Like OMG Baby
by Tessa Raine
Summary: It had all been a game. One that kept her from leaving. They used her. HE used her. During the deceit, her life would be changed for the better, all because of the honey colored hair little boy sitting next to her on the plane. By the end of this trip, her secret will be revealed, whether she likes it or not.
1. Chapter 1

Hello my Reading Junkies! I can't believe that I haven't written a story in so long. I seriously need to make some time to write more stories. I felt so blessed with the reviews I got for my story 'Watch Me Shine', that I felt inspired to start thinking of other stories with different characters from a different storyline. In this one, I'm going with…dun dun dun!...Digimon! My first ever, so I'm hoping that it's at least interesting. I'm not going to make this a long story the way "Watch Me Shine" was. But anyways, the couple I'm combining here are Matt and Mimi, Tai and Sora, TK and Kari and I think that's it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Digimon Series.

ololololololololololololololololololololololololol ololololololololololololololololololololololololol olololololoolololololololololololololololololololo 

"_I can't believe you thought that what we had was actually love!"_

Mimi couldn't believe it would almost be 6 years since she had left Japan for America.

6 years from seeing her homeland, her true friends, and her ex lover.

"_It was nice while it lasted Mimi"_

She shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't understand why these thoughts were coming back all of a sudden. Could it be her return to the place that had wounded her so many years ago?

"_Yes. It was all an act. I never loved you. The only one I want to be with is Gloria."_

It had all been a lie.

"_Let's face it, Meems. You're not center stage material. Our band needs a female lead that has a feminine and sexual appeal to her. You're the total opposite, no offense"_

To keep her from leaving the band.

"_We knew of your crush on Matt, so we convinced him to pretend to date you in order for you to continue writing songs and doing the back vocals in the group. It was nothing personal, just business, you know…"_

Her formal band mates would be there. She knew for certain. The day she left, their fame went crashing down. Turns out that the fans had liked her in the band, baggy pants and all. It was her voice they were mesmerized with. Too bad they, or Matt, didn't see it that way.

Matt…

Was she ready to see him again…especially now…

Mimi took a secret with her when she left Japan.

A secret only two people knew about.

A secret she thought would remain a secret for as long as she could help it.

A secret that would soon be introduced to her past.

Her son.

From only one night of endless passion, Matt had impregnated her. She became pregnant at age 15. The discovery of her pregnancy would come the day she saw Matt with Gloria. His father had implied the relationship but Mimi wouldn't hear any of it. She trusted Matt…well…she HAD trusted him.

Mr. Ishida had somehow found out about her pregnancy, but the man that once use to her be her father's best friend, an uncle-figure to her, wrenched in disapproval and insisted that she abort her child. When she declined, he convinced himself that the child was not Matt's. His cruel words implying that she was nothing but a whore. If her parents had been alive, they would have murdered him for disrespecting her like so, but the truth was, they were nowhere near rescuing her. It had only been a year since their fatal accident when Mimi found herself pregnant and alone.

Mimi's family and Matt's family had been friends from the beginning. Both companies strived successfully and there was peace among them. She and Matt would always play together as children. They were each other's best friends. It wasn't until they were thrown into the Digital World that Mimi began to see Matt with different eyes. When the final battle was over, not only did they come back with new friends, Matt started a band called the Wolves and Mimi, wanting to be with him always, begged to join. At first, the members were skeptical, but as soon as she sang, she was in.

While things were going well with the kids, things were not going so well with the adults. A terrible rivalry began to grow between her father and Matt's father. Soon Mimi could only see Matt when they practiced since she was no longer allowed to step foot into Matt's father's company and vise versa. It was ridiculous.

Without the previous support from Matt's father, her father's company suffered, badly. Towards the end, they had to file for bankruptcy and sell the company. The person who bought the company was none other than Matt's father himself. Her father didn't have a choice. He had to sell it to his rival.

The day she was going to tell Matt about her pregnancy, his father summoned her. It was there that he told her to leave the country. He offered a large sum of money, money she knew she needed, especially with a baby on the way, but she declined anyways. Angered by her rejection he played the last card he had, he set the trap. Mimi was forced into his office closet and told to over hear Matt's true feelings. She refused at first, claiming that she knew of Matt's true feelings for her, but he didn't listen to her as he locked his closet forcing her to stay put.

She remembered that day all too well. She could still smell the scent of his cologne as he had walked into his father's office. Mimi wanted to start yelling the moment he walked into the door, but something, she didn't know what, kept her quiet.

Matt's father began casual conversation. Then it turned personal. She could hear a change in Matt's voice as they talked about their relationship.

"_So I hear you are in a relationship with Mimi…"_

"_Who told you that lie?"_

"_So then it's not true?"_

"_Completely not true"_

"_Rumor has it that you are a couple. I've heard it from fans of your band. Matt, you know that I didn't approve of this music fiasco of yours at first, but seeing how well the people have responded, I don't want anything ruining your chances at making it in the entertainment business"_

"_I know Dad. I know. Look, don't listen to rumors, all they do is cause trouble"_

"_I know. That is why I called you in here. I just wanted to hear it from your mouth. Because if this rumor did turn out to be true and you were in a relationship with that girl, I wouldn't want a mistake to come along and ruin your future."_

"_What are you talking about? What mistake?"_

"_I don't know…if you're relationship with Mimi turns sexual…a mistake would be a…baby, let's say."_

"_What? Okay, you've gone nuts. You know I'm not ready for a baby. Who's ready to be a father at 15!? Why the hell would I want to mess up my life like that? And have a baby with Mimi?! Gross dad! She's not even a girl with all the baggy clothes she wears. Who would want to bang that?"_

"_I hope you're not lying to me Matt"_

"_Okay, look, I'll be totally honest with you. If you've heard that Mimi and I are a couple it's only because I have been pretending to be interested in her"_

"_Really? And why is that?"_

"_We need her lyrics. She's our songwriter"_

"_You aren't making any sense Matt"_

"_She's not a looker. Yes, she does sing on stage with us, but the guys and me feel that we need someone better; someone hot and with a voice to kill. Don't get me wrong, Mimi does have an awesome voice too but her voice and her looks just don't go with one another"_

"_And what will happen when you finally find such a person?"_

"_We already have"_

"_Interesting. Is Mimi aware of this?"_

"_Hell no! Right now, we've been practicing with her. She's a songwriter as well and much better than Mimi, at least in my opinion she is. She's perfect!_

"_What's her name?"  
_

"_Her name's Gloria"_

After that, Mimi was too numb to continue to listen. Her ears felt hot as if lava were pouring from them. She felt lightheaded. She couldn't believe that this was the Matt she had fallen in love with. The one that she fought along side with in the Digital World. The bearer of the crest of friendship! She felt sick to her stomach. She didn't even notice when he had left but was broken from her train of torturous thoughts as the closet door burst open revealing Matt's father grinning triumphantly.

The next thing she remembered was confronting Matt and the band, withholding the information of her pregnancy, of course. When she had yelled to her hearts content, she left and made the appropriate arrangements to leave Japan. After her parents deaths, not much money was left for her to inherit, but with what was there, she managed to buy a one way ticket to New York and left.

Mimi turned to the left side of her seat where she was seated on the plane. She noticed the small honey colored hair boy who currently had his headphones and listening to his iPod, moving his head to the beat of the music.

Ironically, she knew all too well whom he was listening to. _The Wolves_.

Her son had discovered an old album of theirs and instantly fell in love with the group. Mimi didn't know if this was life's way of a punishment for her silence or if this was just a way her son could know of his father in some small way, whether he knew of their blood connection or not. As it would turn out, his favorite band member turned out to be his own father.

Mimi didn't discourage his fascination towards Matt. Throughout these 6 past years, The Wolves suffered. Gloria abandoned the band for another almost about a year after her departure. Sale records dropped almost immediately. They were also dropped from their previous recording label. Mimi had begun to feel sympathy for them.

"Momma are we almost there yet?"

She smiled at her son who had removed his headphones only to stare at her hopefully.

"Almost sweetheart, almost"

"I'm tired" he whined.

"Stop that TJ, nobody likes a whiner" TJ only pouted. Mimi smiled.

She'd named him after her father and grandfather, Tobias James Tachikawa. Her son had inherited her hair, hands and feet, everything else; he was the spitting image of his father.

"Momma, how come we are going to Japan again?" His big blue eyes peering at her.

"Remember I told you, Aunt Sora is getting married to Uncle Tai"

"Oh yea! I like Aunt Sora! I'm so happy that I get to meet her finally. She's really nice to me on the phone"

The only other person, other than Matt's father, who knows of TJ's existence, was Mimi's best friend, Sora Takenouchi.

Sora had begun an off again-on again relationship with their other best friend Tai. A few months ago, he finally had the courage to propose to her. Sora had called her around 4 o'clock in the morning New York time to tell her the good news.

Mimi remembered how upset Sora had gotten when Mimi had left the country without telling her. She was even more upset when she found out how much of a jerk every single person of 'The Wolves', especially Matt, were.

Sora knew that Mimi was nervous in coming back to Japan for her wedding. She had asked her to be her maid of honor, which Mimi still gladly accepted. Later, Sora told her the bad news, Matt was to be the best man for Tai. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hide for long.

Besides, this time, she was no longer the same scared, naïve 15-year-old girl that she was. She was a very successful, beautiful, sexy 22-year-old singer and songwriter. She was a changed woman. No longer did she carry feelings of resentment and bitterness towards any member of her former band. TJ changed her. He literally turned her life upside down and made it better. She realized that she was no longer alone in the world. She would always have him.

"You're going to love her and Tai. They're the best"

"Can we stay at a big hotel with a big pool, momma, pretty please" TJ put his hands together as he pleaded. Mimi laughed.

"I'm sorry, love, but your Aunt Sora has already offered her house"

"Aww! No fair! I wanted a pool!"

"TJ, I didn't say that Aunt Sora DIDN'T have a pool, now did I?" His big eyes grew large with surprise.

"She does and it's a big one, just wait and see! You're gonna love it!"

"Yay!" Mimi laughed.

The end of this trip would reveal her secret. She didn't know when and she didn't know how, all she knew is that she would continue to hide it for as long as she could.

ololololololololololololololololololololololololol ololololololololoololololololololololololololololo lololololololololololololololololololololololololo 

Well there you have it! I hope I didn't bore you too much, I had to get the past detailing out of the way, I promise in the following chapters there will be more dialogue to come. Stay tuned!

Oh Yea! Almost forgot! I haven't seen Digimon in like more than 10 years so I'm a bit rusty, forgive me if I don't portray things the way they were in the series when it comes to the digital world, or at least when the characters think back on it.

Ok, with that said! Until next time my lovelies! Read on!

- Tessa Raine


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! I'm happy to say that I did get some reviews, which made me glad because I was honestly thinking I wasn't going to get any. Haha. But I did, so here is chapter 2! I hope that you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Digimon or its characters.

With that out of the way, let the story continue…

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There was _another_ reason why Mimi had to return to Japan. She had to sing a duet with "The Wolves".

Three months ago, her manager, Debra Shields, had received an invitation to a worldwide competition amongst many solo artists and groups. The officials were to set up a solo artist with a band group and have them write and perform a song together. Whichever song was the one that was most well received by the audience, that team would be announced the winner. The reason for this competition was to help new up-coming bands and solo artists who are barely trying to make it in the music world or are trying to make a comeback.

Debra was ecstatic! She thought the whole idea of the competition was pure genius. She accepted immediately without even advising with Mimi. Mimi, of course, didn't mind. She had a lot to be grateful to Debra. She was the one who believed in her when she first arrived in America, not only that, she had saved her life that fateful day in the streets…she had offered her a home.

**FLASHBACK**

_The rain poured. It insisted to fall beating down on the young girl who shivered on the side of the sidewalk. New York, although soaking wet, was a city where its inhabitants didn't stay in. It could be a frightful place. _

_Mimi had arrived in New York earlier that week. It had been a Saturday. It was now Friday. Her money had run out by Wednesday. Mimi had no choice but to live in the streets, finding the safest places she could for her and her unborn child. During the day, she would go from business to business and company to company, trying to find either work or someone who would give her the opportunity to sing for them. Nothing. They didn't even dare look her straight in the eye. It was always the same thing, with a wave of their hand, she was always dismissed and rejected. Every night, Mimi would cry herself to sleep. _

_What was she going to do? How was she supposed to take care of her baby if she couldn't even take care of herself? _

_As always, Mimi thought of her parents. They would be horrified at the living situations she found herself in at that moment. She wished she could be wrapped in their loving arms and be reassured that everything would be alright. She cried even harder as she hugged herself and shrank smaller into the small cardboard box she was using to shield herself from the pouring rain. _

"_Are you alright?" _

_Mimi jumped. She peeked through the box and looked up at the most serene face she had seen since arriving in New York. Mimi couldn't seem to think of anything to say. She was still in shock that this woman had actually noticed her. _

"_Are you alright?"_

_Mimi heard her again, a bit stronger this time._

"_What's your name?"_

"_Mimi" Mimi said weakly. The woman smiled. Her dark brown eyes dancing brightly back down at her. She appeared to be in her late 20s, but Mimi couldn't be so certain. Mimi noticed that the woman's hair matched her eyes and that her hair reached her waist. She was beautiful. _

"_Hello Mimi, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" she asked, with true concern in her voice. "Where are your parents? Are you lost?"_

_At the mention of her parents, Mimi started to cry again. _

"_Oh gosh! I'm sorry, please don't cry. I didn't mean to make you more upset. C'mon, get up, we need to get you out of this rain. We don't want you catching a cold"_

_The woman helped Mimi up and to her utmost surprise, Mimi saw her take of her trench coat and wrap it around Mimi. She then tugged at her arm and made her stand next to her as she covered them with her giant umbrella Mimi had failed to notice earlier. The sun had set and Mimi hadn't been able to tell the difference between the darkness of the cloudy sky and the color of the umbrella. _

_Mimi was then put into what appeared to be a black fancy town car. The car looked very expensive. For the first time, Mimi had to ask herself just who exactly was this woman. _

_Once inside, the woman smiled at Mimi. _

"_Don't worry, sweetie. There's no need to be afraid of me. My name is Debra Shields. I work as a talent manager here in The Big Apple," She said cheerily. Mimi still said nothing. _

"_So, tell me" she began, "how is it that a young looking girl like yourself, got herself living in the dirty streets of this city? Are you even aware of the dangers that are always lurking around these corners, especially in that alley that you decided to spend the night? Sweetheart, you need to be careful" Mimi saw that she checked her watch and then returned her gaze back to her. _

"_Where do you live? I can get my driver to take you there if you'd like" Mimi lowered her head. _

"_I…I…I live in Japan" when she heard the surprised gasp, she looked back up to Debra. _

"_Japan? Sweetie, I don't know if you know this, but you're a long way from home. How did you end up here? Did you come with your parents?"_

_This time, Mimi's eyes only watered, but she didn't allow her tears to fall. _

"_My parents are dead, miss."_

"_Oh my goodness, you poor thing" _

"_I had to leave Japan."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I wasn't wanted there. I…I…needed to escape. I needed to hide. I needed to hide…my secret"_

_One tear fell. The woman remained silent, and then finally, she spoke. Her facial features changing dramatically, it took on an almost motherly appearance to it. _

"_You will stay with me then. When we arrive at my flat, you and I will have a nice long chat. I want to know everything. I want to know everything because I want to help you. Truly, truly help you. Like I mentioned before, I will not hurt you so you have no reason to fear me whatsoever." _

_Mimi only nodded. Inside, she was arguing with herself. Could she really trust this lady? Again Mimi realized that she didn't have a choice. She would have to trust her, for the sake of her and most importantly her baby. She would have to tell her everything. _

_And that was exactly what she did. That night, she had poured her heart out to a woman she had met only a couple of hours before. She told her about her childhood, her role as a digi destined, her friends, her parents, the accident, The Wolves, Matt, her ordeal and finally, she told her about her baby. _

_As it turned out, Debra had been right. She did help her. Debra took her in and acted as a mother figure to her. She set up a doctor's appointment the following day in order to have Mimi checked up and have her begin her prenatal pills as well as the different tests to know if her child was growing healthy. Everything, Debra took care of everything. _

_It wasn't until Mimi had been living with her for almost 8 months, did Debra hear Mimi sing for the first time. She was mesmerized. _

"_Mimi, would you allow me to be your manager? I can make you a big star if you give me the chance"_

"_But I'm pregnant, almost ready to pop even, how are people going to take me seriously when they see me on stage with a huge belly? People will have a field day finding out that this new singer already has a child. I don't think it helps my reputation don't you think?"_

"_I'm not saying right now. I'm talking about after you have TJ and have time to wean him. And don't worry about what people will say. Like the famous Dr. Seuss said, 'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind' He was a smart man, that Dr. Seuss, yes he was"_

_Mimi smiled. Once again, she found herself thanking the heavens for Debra. _

**END OF FLASHBACK**

She had been true to her word. After TJ's birth, Debra began the preparations for her transition into a big star. It took her a year and a half to finally be recognized as a true famous and respected singer. However, Mimi didn't use her real name as her professional name. Debra had come up with another name. A name she composed in honor of Mimi's digi-friend, Palmon. Her stage name was Lilly Rose. Mimi approved almost immediately.

Mimi was finally able to afford her own place to live with her knew found fame. Debra had been sad to see her and TJ leave her, but Mimi hadn't felt too bad since, in the following month, Debra would be getting married. Yes, Debra met and fell in love with a prominent businessman who was very good to her. Mimi knew it was time to start her own life with her son in her own home. Debra knew this too but it was still hard for both of them.

When Debra had come to tell Mimi about the competition, Mimi thought it to be a good idea as well, that was, until the officials finally did the match up. Debra and Mimi almost died of shock as they looked at the name right next to hers.

_The Wolves _

'Great. Just great' Mimi thought.

The only good thing about this was that since The Wolves were the band that was trying to make a comeback, Mimi, or Lilly Rose, had to remain anonymous to them only. They were not allowed to see whom was the person working with them. When Mimi had first read the rules, she had thought them to be a bit out of the ordinary but now, as she saw the names of her former band mates staring right back at her, she was thankful for those rules. She could only imagine what they would be thinking if they knew that she was the one that they would need to work with.

Mimi did her recordings in a different tone as well. She told Debra to make sure her voice wasn't recognizable. So they almost made her voice sound chipmunk-ish. Which ironically, went well with the song she had written. She sent her recording to Japan and the boys finished their part there. It had worked; they had no idea who she was.

Unfortunately, when their song came out on the radio, worldwide, it _was_ well received, so well, they ended up winning the competition. This is why now, Mimi had to go and show The Wolves just who exactly they were working with and perform their hit song to all of Japan and the world. It was the first thing she had to do on her 'To-Do-List When We Get To Japan'.

The concert was tonight.

'Great. Just great' Mimi thought again.

"Momma! Look I see land!" She heard her son say as she came back to reality. TJ was the only one excited about tonight's concert. He was going to get to meet his favorite band and his favorite member: his father.

"Do you see it, Momma, do you see it!"

"I do, you're right. That's Japan over there alright"

"Yay! Finally!" Mimi smiled. She hoped Sora hadn't forgotten to pick them up at the airport. Mimi was beginning to get just a little bit nervous.

**zozozozo JAPAN zozozozoz**

"Dude, I'm SO pumped for tonight!" Riker, the base player along with being one of the main singers, yelled out as he waved his hands in the air. Matt smiled as he continued to strum on his guitar.

"I'm more excited to find out who it was that helped us make it back to the spotlight. All we know is that it's a girl. Marshall didn't say anything else. He did act weird though" Tyler, the drummer, said.

Marshall was the group's manager. He had been with them since the beginning, even when Mimi was in the group. He was the only one that knew that Mimi was the one who partner. What he didn't understand, was why she had agreed to help her former group mates. Was it all for revenge? Was she going to do something to humiliate them the way they did to her almost 6 years ago? It made him nervous. He wanted to alert his boys, but couldn't, it was against the competition rules. He didn't want to ruin the one chance his boys had to making it big again. He only hoped and prayed that Mimi would show mercy…a lot of mercy.

"He was acting weird, but Marshall's always weird" Dom laughed. He was the keyboard player of the band.

"So Matt, at what time do you want us here for tonight?"

"Concert starts at 7, lets be here at 5:30 in order to rehearse. Remember, we're going to perform a couple of our songs and then, we're doing our winning song, and then it's our anonymous singer's turn for the spotlight" Matt said as he began putting his guitar away.

"Got it"

"See ya then"

"Cool deal"

At that moment, Tai walked in.

"How's the coolest band in all Japan doing this fine afternoon!"

"What up, Tai!"

"Yo Tai, my man!"

"What's shakin, bacon!"

They high fived each other as Tai made his way towards Matt. He sat down on the opposite side of him.

"You guys ready for the concert? Sora and I are so looking forward to it"

"Dude, we're so ready" Riker replied.

"Yea, we were born ready," Dom agreed. Tyler only whooped in response.

"You all better not suck, because that would be bad"

"Shut up!" they all yelled back. They did NOT need that bad energy at all.

"So Tai, to what do I owe this surprise?" Matt finally spoke up.

"Nothing much. I just know that this is an important day for you guys and I wanted to lend my support."

Matt smiled. "Thanks man, 'ppreciate it"

"Hey Tai, how are the wedding plans coming along?"

That question got Tai blushing. "They're coming along fine. Everything's set for next week." Tai exhaled deeply. "I can't believe it's already next week. It went by so fast"

"You aren't getting cold feet now are ya, Tai?" Tyler teased. Tai looked only confused for a minute or so before replying.

"Are you kidding me? I can't wait to marry Sora. She's finally going to be alllllll mine." Matt could have sworn hearts had replaced his eyes. "I'm just nervous about the whole talking in front of people and all. What if I do something wrong? What if she say no instead of I DO?"

"Tai, Tai, calm down man. Sora loves you. She wouldn't have said yes if she didn't" Matt said as he threw his best friend a guitar pick. Tai smiled at him.

"Yea, you're right. I know it's just my mind being stupid. Besides I'm so happy that all my friends are going to be able to share this with me, you know…" Tai looked at the guys who were smiling and nodding. "I mean, you guys are going to be the band at the wedding, Izzy and Joe are coming, so is TK, Kari, and Mimi. We're all going to be together again, just like in the old days."

Everything was silent. Tyler, Riker, Dom and Matt went utterly still. Matt cleared his throat.

"What did you say Tai?" Tai blinked his confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"List…list the people that are going again…" it was Riker who had spoken this time.

"Um…Izzy, Joe…TK, Kari…and…um… oh yea… Mimi"

Tai jumped at the sound of Tyler's drumsticks falling to the ground. He looked around the somber room.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

"Mimi's going to be…there?"

In a flash, Tai realized what had happened. He felt completely stupid that he had forgotten their history with Mimi.

"Oh yea…right…Mimi"

"Why didn't you tell us before Tai" Riker whispered.

"Sorry man, I actually had forgotten what had happened. And since Sora and Mimi have stayed in contact all these years…"

"They've stayed in contact?!" Matt all but jumped out of his seat. Ever since Mimi disappeared from their lives, Matt had felt truly miserable. No one had known where she had gone off to. He had been worried for months until finally he realized that this was what she wanted. He had been so stupid when it came to Mimi; all because of his fear to his father. What an imbecile. He had treated her like dirt. Wounded her as if she didn't matter at all, but in reality, mattered a great deal. Matt allowed himself to treat her the way she did because Mimi was the first girl to ever make him feel; make him truly love. That one night they shared was embedded into his head, reliving it every night.

"Yea…" Tai gulped, "Ever since Mimi left for America they've…"

"America?! _That's _where she's been all these years!" Matt couldn't believe it. She had gone _that_ far away. He had always believed that she was at least still living somewhere in Japan. But obviously, he had been wrong, very wrong. America…

"Yea, she's been living there for the past 6 years almost"

"Why didn't' you ever tell me this Tai!" Matt practically yelled.

"I didn't think you would care. You were with Gloria…remember"

He remembered, and he cringed at the memory. What a snake of a woman she had been. His father had been a crafty man. He had hired this girl to seduce his own son in order to continue having him in his grasp. Matt had been an idiot. He had thought that his band had found her out of pure luck, but when she left them, she confessed everything. His father had ruined his life. How can blood do that to blood? His scheme had worked, for a while. After Mimi had left, Matt had clung to Gloria for emotional support but in the end, she destroyed him like the slivering serpent she was.

"I remember" He spat. "But you should have at least once mentioned that you knew where Mimi was or that Sora still talked to her" He dropped himself back on the seat. The others were quiet. Silence filled the room for a moment or two.

"When is she coming?" Matt asked quietly. He heard Tai inhale sharply.

"Today"

Matt chest tightened. _Today_. She was coming today.

"Sorry man, I should have told you sooner"

"At what time" Matt said again as if he hadn't heard Tai's apology. Tai looked down at his watch and then back at his friend.

"Well, if I'm right, Sora should be picking her up from the airport right about now"

**zozozozo AIRPORT zozozozo**

"Mimi! Mimi! Over here! Mimi!"

Mimi hurried to where her best friend stood, making sure she held on tightly to TJ's hand as she moved through the crowded terminal. The girls hugged strongly as they finally reached each other.

"Mimi, I've missed you so much!"

"Me too Sora" They separated. Sora began to look around Mimi until she finally saw him.

"Oh. My. God." She gasped. Her gaze went straight to Mimi. Mimi knew she saw Matt in TJ's face. They were identical. Sora looked back down at TJ and smiled making him smile back in reply.

"Hi TJ, I'm Sora"

"Hi Aunt Sora, it's very nice to meet you"

"Aww, you called me Aunt Sora…" Sora said almost getting emotional.

"Uh huh, that's what Momma says. You're my Aunt Sora" TJ said with a wide grin. Sora fell in love with him almost immediately. "Can we go to you're house now…I'm tired."

"TJ!" Mimi all but shouted, "Sweetheart, that's almost rude"

Sora laughed smiling back at TJ. "It's okay. Yes, we can go now."

"Yay! Is it true that you have a really big pool?"

"Well it's not mine, since I live in an apartment, but it is really big. You're going to love it."

"Momma, did you hear that? It's really big! Can I swim when we get there?"

Mimi gave him a stern look. "I thought you said you were tired?"

"I'm not _that _tired" Mimi and Sora laughed as they began their way towards the exit.

"We'll see sweetheart, we'll see"

**zozozo RECORD BUILDING zozozo**

"I can't believe Mimi's back in Japan…" Riker said as he dropped himself to the floor. Dom and Tyler did the same thing, all three forgetting about their earlier departure. The reality of their past coming back full force. They all knew they had treated the girl less than a dog. They had been idiots. Now their past was going to be face to face with them soon and they weren't sure if they were ready for the reaction that was expected.

"I know… It's been almost about 6 years since Mimi left. I've always known that she would have to return one day, I … I just didn't think that we'd have to come face to face with her like this." Dom said.

"I can only imagine what she thinks of us."

"C'mon guys, this is Mimi we're talking about." Tai started up, "She's not like that. She's a forgiving person"

"Let's face it Tai, we were complete jerks to her in the past, are you telling me she would forget all the crap we put her through and actually forgive us? C'mon, get real"

"I do believe that. I do believe that she's forgiven you guys. Mimi isn't a type of person to hold a grudge. When we were in the Digital World, she was always there for us. When she would do wrong, she would apologize and if we did something wrong, she would forgive us, no questions asked. That's just the way she is. I know her" Tai insisted.

Matt had been silent as he listened to Tai. He did remember those days in the Digital World. He literally was in a different world there; a world that didn't include his manipulative father.

"I hope you're right Tai. I really do." Tyler said. "For our sake"

"Is she…single…or is she…married" Tai looked at Matt for a second.

"Honestly, I don't know…but…"

"But what"

"But in response to our wedding invitation, she put down 'Mimi plus one'"

Matt only nodded. Tai didn't know if his information caused any sort of reaction within him because his outer appearance surely didn't show it.

"I wonder if she still looks the same?" Tyler questioned.

"Yea, I wonder if she stayed like a tomboy" Dom wondered as well.

"I don't know that, I haven't seen her just like you guys" Tai said.

"Do you know where she's staying at?" Matt asked.

"I think she's going to be staying at Sora's. They may be there already" Tai inhaled. "Do you guys want to go and see her?"

All three guys looked at Matt who remained pensive.

"No" he finally said, "We need to prepare for tonight's concert" with that, he got up, got his guitar case and walked out of the room. Dom, Tyler, and Riker looked at Tai and shrugged.

"Sorry man, maybe after the concert. I know we have to see Mimi sooner or later, but I guess the answer is later…way later" and then they got up and left as well leaving Tai alone.

Tai thought for a moment at the conversation that had taken place. He knew Matt. His interest in Mimi's life showed Tai that his feelings for her remained. Whether they were strong or weak, only Matt would know, but Tai could only pray that everything turned out well…for the both of them.

He got up from his seat and made his way out of the building and started his way to Sora's in order to greet Mimi and her 'plus one'.

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Well there you have it. Chapter 2. Hope you're enjoying it. I'm already working on Chapter 3, so it should be up in about a day or two. Keep an eye out for it :)

Also, please, if you are _NOT_ a fan of mimato or taiora, please don't continue reading this story because it is only going to upset you since it is a mimato and taiora-coupling story. If you're trying a mimato fanfic for the first time, well then, I really hope that you are enjoying this story.

Again, thank you so much for reading my story.

Oh yea! Before I forget, if you want to get an idea on how TJ looks, just look up images of Mimi's son at the end of the Digimon series where they are all with their kids. Mimi's son is the one with the orange hoodie. TJ hair is the same as the boy in the picture but you'll need to imagine Matt's child like face on him. I hope that you understood what I just finished trying to describe, haha, because I confused myself …hahaha.

Okay, until next time…

-Tessa Raine


	3. Chapter 3

Alrightie! Chapter 3 is here!

First and foremost I want to thank all of my readers. Thank you for taking time and reading this story, especially reviewing it. I love reading your reviews. It inspires me to continue writing this story.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon.

Let's begin…

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"He sure looks happy"

"Yes he does" Mimi smiled as she watchfully watched TJ swimming in the humongous pool.

Sora hadn't been joking, the pool was enormous and TJ was ecstatic! He couldn't believe his eyes. He immediately asked his mother if he could swim. Poor Mimi couldn't say no to his blue puppy eyes pleading with her silently. Leaving their suitcases at the entrance of Sora's nice looking apartment, he ran to the room Sora had assigned as theirs and in a blink of an eye, he was in his swimming trunks and pulling on his mother's pants.

"He loves swimming pools"

"Why?"

Mimi shrugged, "I honestly don't know. He's just always liked them"

Sora turned her to look at Mimi once more.

"Are you going to tell him?" Mimi continued looking at her son. Mimi didn't know how to answer that question.

"I don't know" she began, "I do, but then I don't. Ugh. I don't know what to do"

"He's changed, Mimi"

Mimi slightly rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm not saying that I don't believe that Sora, it's just that, I didn't come back in order to get back with him. I honestly didn't come back to tell him that he has a son. I'm just here to sing at this concert and for your wedding, after that, I'm going back to America. I didn't come with the intention of staying"

"Aren't you a bit nervous of seeing him again?"

"Of course I am!" Mimi shrieked, "I'm terribly scared of seeing him again. I'm afraid of seeing the band again, I'm scared of people putting two and two together, take one good look at TJ and then at Matt and realize that they are related, I'm scared of seeing Matt's father again, I'm afraid…"

"Of finding out that you still love him after all this time" Sora finished. Mimi turned to look at her wide eyed.

"Mimi, I know you. That's your greatest fear. Finding out that you are still in love with him, even after everything that's happened between the two of you" Mimi looked down, and then slowly, she nodded. There wasn't any way she could lie to Sora. She was able to read her like a book. That's why they were best friends.

"I am, Sora" she said, "but honestly, I think I already know my answer…"

"Yes, I do too" Mimi looked up once more, this time, with tears threatening to come out. Sora reached out her hand to touch hers.

"Momma look at this!" Mimi quickly tabbed at her eyes and turned smiling brightly to her son. She watched as TJ went down the big wet slide and into the water, yelling the whole way. Sora watched as Mimi clapped and cheered cheerily as he popped his head out of the water.

"That was amazing sweetheart! Do it again!"

"You've done a great job with him Mimi. He's great"

"Yea, he is. He's my entire world. The day he was born, I knew I would never be alone. I had someone that belonged to me and me alone"

"Did you ever want to call Matt and tell him of his existence?"

Mimi nodded, "Many times. There were times when I wanted to come back here but…I just couldn't. I wasn't going to risk losing my son to that man."

"Mimi, he wouldn't have been able to have done anything. You are an excellent mother. You are providing for your child. I thought they only took children away from their parents when the parents were like drug addicts or abusive and stuff like that. You're none of that. What could he have possibly have used against you?"

"I don't know Sora, but that man is dangerous and I just didn't want to be anywhere near him"

"Well, you're in the same city as he is now. I'm sure Matt's going to let him know of your arrival, well…" Sora paused, "who knows…Matt and his father aren't in the best terms right now, if you know what I mean…"

"I didn't know that. What happened?"

Sora shook her head sadly, "Matt found out what a manipulative man his father really was"

Mimi looked confused. Sora chuckled. "Don't worry Mimi, it's a long story"

Mimi didn't ask anymore. She didn't want to seem interested in what happened in Matt's life, even though she was dying of curiosity inside. What could his father have done to have his son turn against him? Her curiosity only grew.

"So…" Mimi thoughts were broken by Sora's voice, "I've always wondered how it was possible for you to hide your identity, yet still be a famous singer?"

Mimi smiled. "It was all Debra's doing"

"How so?"

"Well, she knew of the reason I went to America and well, covering all her bases, she changed my name"

"I know that _Lilly Rose. _What I don't understand is how nobody connected her to you?" Mimi smiled again.

"Have you ever researched me on the internet Sora?"

Sora thought for a moment then shook her head. "No, I never thought about it since I knew that Lilly Rose was you. I have your albums but the covers are random pictures of whatever single is on that cd"

"Well, if you would have, you would have found a girl wearing a pink wig with colored contacts, you would have found Lilly Rose instead of Mimi Tachikawa…really Sora, I'm surprised at you, I can't believe you haven't searched me. Have you even seen any of my videos?"

"A pink wig?! Wait a minute!" Sora snapped her fingers and sat up quickly, "Is that you on the cover of your second and fourth album?! Dang Mimi, no, I hadn't seen your videos, being a chef and all, I was usually always busy at the restaurant. I told you, girl, I only had your albums, to me, that was enough. I still can't believe that the girl in the pink wig is you?!" Mimi laughed and nodded.

"Yup, that's me. Fooled ya huh?"

"Big time!" Sora laughed along, "No wonder no one from Japan has recognized you. Good plan."

"Yup, like I said, it was all Debra's doing" Mimi said, "Besides, its also helped me with my personal life. I could be myself and I didn't have to worry about fans or paparazzi following me everywhere I went"

Sora made a face, "Yea, way a go Debra"

"Yup" Mimi said as she turned once more to where TJ was trying to float on his back.

"Everything will turn out all right, Meems" Mimi didn't turn to look at Sora but smiled slightly and nodded.

"I hope so, Sora, for TJ's sake"

The trio stayed out by the poolside for another 10 minutes before Mimi called out to TJ to come out, which he obediently did. They went up to Sora's apartment and had a brief snack. While their small lunch, TJ began dozing off into sleep until he was out cold. Mimi slowly carried him into their bedroom and laid him on the bed, kissed his forehead and walked out leaving the door slightly opened.

"What time is it Sora?"

"4:50"

Mimi sighed. She was counting the hours before she had to be face to face with Matt. Just thinking about it made her nervous.

"What time are you supposed to be there at the center?"

"Um…the concert starts at 7, The Wolves are going to go on first then we are doing our duet…" Mimi said.

"Which I love" Sora interrupted.

"Then I will finish off the concert" Mimi smiled, "So I'll probably go around 7:30"

"I'm super excited! I can't believe you are going to share the stage with your old band!"

"Yea I know. Who would have thought that this was going to happen again?"

Sora shrugged, "Not me"

"Hey Mimi, are you still hurt with them?"

Mimi shook her head, "No, Sora. I'm not. I actually see that time in my life as the push I needed to come out of my shell. Did it hurt? Duh! You'd be an idiot if it didn't hurt, but like I said, TJ changed me. I let go of my bitterness. I really don't have any resentful feelings for anyone, even Matt"

"But yet, you're still not going to tell him that he has a son…" Mimi gave Sora a look.

"Sorry, sorry, but…you know it's true…"

Mimi only sighed. Before Mimi could utter another word, the doorbell rang and Mimi's heart began to race.

"Coming"

Sora opened the door and by her excited squeak, Mimi knew immediately who was at her door.

"Hey Baby!" she threw her arms around his neck and planted a nice wet one on his lips. When they separated, Tai finally saw her.

"Mimi?" he stared wide-eyed, "Is that you?"

Mimi chuckled, "Yes, Tai, it's me"

"Dang girl, you got hot" Sora smacked across the back "Ouch, no, I mean, you were already hot…ouch! No I meant when she was younger...Ow! Damn it Sora, I'm just giving her a compliment!"

Mimi burst out laughing. She had forgotten how funny Tai and Sora were together. She sure had missed them.

"Thanks for the compliment, Tai" she went over and gave him a big hug. Mimi noted that Tai was really tall. She almost had to stand on her tiptoes in order to have her arms go around his neck.

"Wow, Tai, you got taller" Tai smiled a cocky smile. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Oh don't get him started Mimi," she said, "That's all he ever talks about, his stupid height" she turned and pointed a finger at him, "You're not that tall buddy!"

Mimi continued giggling. The engaged couple argued for another minute or so before they turned their focus back to their guest.

"So Mimi how's America?"

"It's been good, Tai, really good"

"So, are you like seeing anyone?"

"TAI!" Sora screeched, "Don't be asking her personal questions"

"Why not? I don't know what's been happening these past 6 years. Sheesh," he said, "_I_ didn't keep in touch with her the way _some_ of us did" Mimi saw Sora roll her eyes.

"Don't listen to him Mimi, he's being an idiot"

"Yea but you're the one marrying this idiot"

"That can easily be changed buddy!"

"Oh yea!" and with that, he grabbed her suddenly, and kissed her passionately. As she watched on, Mimi couldn't help but feel a slight pang of something deep inside her chest, but what was it?

"Momma?"

Silence filled the room. The couple quickly detangled themselves from each other and stared at the tiny little boy who was covering his face while rubbing his sleepy eyes. Tai seemed confused.

"Momma? Who is this kid?"

At the sound of a male voice, TJ uncovered his face and stared directly at Tai. Tai gasped.

"What the hell?!" He saw it, Mimi knew. He saw the resemblance.

"Uh oh, you said a bad word, Momma doesn't like bad words" Still, Tai didn't say anything. Sora decided to step in.

"Tai, this is TJ. He is Mimi's son" Tai quickly turned to Mimi, making her slightly jump at the process.

"He's your son?! You're a mom?!" Tai turned back to TJ, then back to Mimi.

Mimi swallowed hard and found the courage to speak. "Yes, Tai. He's my son" Mimi turned to TJ and took him into her arms.

"Sweetheart, this is Uncle Tai. Yes, he did say a bad word and I'm sure Aunt Sora is going to punish him for it later" Mimi winked at Sora and Tai, making them blush.

"Can you say hello?" TJ nodded.

"Hello Uncle Tai. It's very nice to meet you. My Momma says that you are going to marry Aunt Sora, right?"

Tai nodded. "Yea…it's true" TJ smiled.

After a few more moments, it seemed as if Tai got over his shock and sat down on the sofa with Sora beside him. Mimi took the sofa on the opposite side while TJ sat on the floor. Miraculously, Tai didn't ask about the resemblance. Mimi hoped that he wouldn't, especially not in front of TJ.

"Wow Mimi, I can't believe you're a mother"

"Yea…"

"How old is he?"

"I'm gonna be 6 years old" TJ decided to answer, he turned to Mimi, "how many more days Momma?"

"In three more weeks, sweetheart"

TJ turned to Tai once again; "In three weeks" he smiled nice and big.

"Wow! You're going to be a big boy huh?"

"Yup! I'm gonna go to first grade!"

"Really? Nice"

"Uncle Tai, are you gonna go see Momma sing tonight with The Wolves?"

Again, silence. Mimi could predict a confession in the near future. She could feel Tai's eyes on her. Bravely, she looked up to meet his confused gaze and nodded.

"Yes, Tai. I'm singing tonight"

"With…The Wolves?"

"Yes," Mimi nodded, "With them. Tai, I'm a singer in America. I sing under a false name. Lilly Rose"

Tai's eyes widened at the confession, "You're Lilly Rose!" Mimi nodded.

"I am"

"Holy Crap"

"TAI! NOT IN FRONT OF TJ!" Sora smacked him once again. TJ found himself giggling at Tai's hurt face.

"Does Matt know?" Mimi shook her head.

"No, they don't. They aren't supposed to know. I'm sure you know of the competition right?"

"Well, yea, of course I do. All of Japan knows, but what does that have to do with all this?"

"Everything. The competition has rules. Since Matt's band is the 'rookie' band, they are not allowed to know the identity of the star that has worked with them until the day of the concert, which is today."

"Oh man…this is heavy"

Mimi took a deep breath and nodded, "Yea…"

"Don't feel bad Uncle Tai, nobody at home knows that Momma is Lilly Rose. She uses a…a…Momma what do you use?"

"A disguise"

"Yea…a disguise"

"That's right, I've seen some of your videos" Tai asked,

"Yea, the pink wig and different colored contacts have been my life savers"

"Wow Mimi, didn't think you'd come so far" Mimi gave him a confused stare, Tai quickly raised his hands up in defense, "Not that I'm not happy for you, it's just that I wasn't expecting all this. Here I was, coming from seeing the guys, telling them that you were going to be at the wedding…"

"You told them I was here?" Mimi practically yelled out.

"Yea, for the wedding. Let me tell you, they were quite uneasy when I mentioned your name"

"They probably think I hate them…"

"Why Momma?" Mimi looked down at TJ and kicked herself mentally, she had forgotten that her son, who knew nothing of her past was still listening to the conversation.

"Don't worry about it sweetie, look at the time, it's almost time to leave, so please, go and take a shower and start getting ready"

TJ looked hesitant at first, but then nodded and ran down the hallway. Mimi watched him go until she turned back to Tai and Sora.

"That's good that they feel guilty. They should after what they did to you" Sora added in.

"But Sora, I just finished telling you that I don't feel angry towards…"

"Yea, yea, I know, but still. I think you're being too nice Mimi" Mimi smiled at her friend.

"The past is in the past. All I want to do, is get through this night and then just worry about your wedding"

"I'm still shocked that you have a son Mimi," Tai said, "A son who oddly looks a lot like…" He shook his head violently. "Nah, it couldn't be, right?" He stared at Mimi for a moment before Mimi lost the courage and shook her head.

"No, it's not who you think"

"Really? Could have fooled me. He looks identical to him, even to TK"

"It's not Tai. TJ's father lives in America"

Mimi could feel Sora's eyes boring into her. Mimi had no idea what she was thinking making up a lie like this one, but she found herself losing her courage and denying the truth. She wasn't ready. Not yet.

"Really? Who is he? What's his name?"

"His name…his name is…Michael"

"Michael?" Tai said unconvinced. Mimi was screaming at herself inwardly. How could she have brought him into this!

Michael was a fellow singer and one of Mimi's good friends in America. He had also been there from the beginning. He had been there for TJ's birth, video taping everything. Michael knew about Matt and their past. Somehow, he began to be a type of father figure for TJ and TJ called him 'Papa Michael'. Many people thought that Mimi and Michael liked or even loved each other. There was even a time when TJ, himself, wanted his 'parents' to get together but the truth was that Mimi wasn't Michael's type. Michael already had a significant other: Rupert. Michael was gay. Since nothing ever did happen between the two of them, people began to drop the subject of a possible future romance and let them continue their friendship, but TJ always saw him as his father. Michael tried his hardest to care for TJ and Mimi would forever be grateful to him for that.

"Yes, Michael."

"So what? You met him immediately after arriving in America?"

"Well not immediately, more like three weeks after I got there. I was living with my manager, Debra, and he was another of her clients. He's a singer as well."

"Mimi, do you honestly think I'm going to believe this? TJ looks identical to Matt."

"That's because Michael somewhat resembles Matt, blonde hair, blue eyes, almost about the same height. I'm telling you Tai, TJ's father is Michael"

Tai eyed Sora, who looked as if she wanted to murder Mimi right then and there. How could she be this stupid as to bring in that guy Michael? Sora had only spoken to him a couple of times when she would call Mimi and he happened to be there in her apartment. He was a nice man but Sora knew his secret.

"Fine. If you say so"

"Thank you"

"Yea, sure, whatever, I still have my suspicions but…who am I to disbelieve you." Tai said with a goofy smile.

"Oh Mimi, I'm so happy that you're here with me!" Sora said suddenly, leaning forward and taking Mimi into a big strong hug, squeezing the breath out of her.

"I can't believe what you just did! You just dug your own grave Missy! Michael! Seriously!" Mimi heard her whisper harshly into her ear, making Mimi squirm, yet being careful not to alert Tai of her discomfort. Sora let her go with a wide smile then squeezed her arm tightly before letting go and turning her attention back to her charming fiancé, who had no idea of what had just happened between the two best friends.

"Sweetie, maybe you should go and start getting ready for the concert…"

"I was thinking of going like this"

Sora eyed his garments with shock. He had a pair of brown shorts and a plain old t-shirt. For being a prosperous businessman, he sure didn't dress like one, at least not on his days off. Tai had done pretty well after college. He started his own security business and recently, business had been booming.

"You're kidding right?"

"Uh…yea…pshh..I'm kidding" he said nervously, "Can't believe you actually thought I was going like this to a concert…HA!"

"Oh good, then why don't you go and change. I'll call you when I'm ready to be picked up"

"Actually, Sora, Tai doesn't have to come pick you up, I was going to ask a favor of you"

"What?"

"Well, while I perform, I was wondering if you could please take care of TJ for me…usually it's Debra or Michael looking after him…I hope you don't mind"

Sora's eyes went wide, "Are you kidding me!? I don't mind at all! Of course I'll look after him" she turned to Tai, "Tai will help me, won't you Tai?"

Tai nodded dumbfounded. "Yea, sure, no problem" He walked up to Sora and quickly kissed her lips. "Well I better get going then so that I can get ready"

"Thank you Tai, and don't worry, I'll take her to the concert, just meet me backstage okay"

"Yea sure, no problem" Tai began walking towards the door before Mimi's voice was heard again.

"Tai" he turned, "um…I'd appreciate it if you please not tell The Wolves that I am the one they are singing with tonight…"

Tai smiled, "Mimi, don't worry. You're secrets safe with me" Mimi smiled in return.

"Thanks Tai" and with that, Tai stepped out of the apartment and the two young women were left alone.

"So…" Sora began, "mind telling me now what you were thinking bringing in Michael into this?"

Mimi only groaned.

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There you go! Chapter 3. I'm sorry that this chapter only took place in one setting. I'll try to do more different point of views, if you guys want, on the following chapters. Since the next chapter is the concert chapter, I might have to do it in a "songfic" format.

On another note: I'm very happy for all the reviews that I received for chapter two: Thank you Readers. Knowing that many of you follow my story inspires me to continue writing. I hope you are enjoying this story.

Also, let me know what you would like to read about in the next chapter or following chapters, other than the big showdown between Mimi and The Wolves, I would love to know your opinions and visions for this story.

You are appreciated!

Much love,

-Tessa Raine


	4. Chapter 4

Hello Readers! I'm going to go straight into the story and I'll leave my reasons for this late post until the end.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Digimon nor any of the songs that I used in this chapter.

Yes, this chapter will be a type of Songfic chapter.

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"What the hells wrong Matt? That's the second time you miss the note! The concert is starting in 30 minutes!" Riker yelled.

Matt hadn't been able to stop thinking of Mimi being back in Japan. When would he see her again? Would she hide out until the wedding? Would she avoid him as much as possible? What would he say when and IF he saw her? I'm sorry? Forgive me? What? All these thoughts just made him all the more worried than he already was for the concert. He knew he needed to focus. He had to get Mimi out of his head. He just had to!

"Sorry man, let's take it from the top again"

Before they could begin, Marshall came into the rehearsal room with a look of pure shock.

"Stop guys, stop! We have an emergency!"

"What? What's wrong? Is the other singer not here yet?" Riker asked.

"No, no, she's here, but I just got notice that you are going to have to sing TWO songs with your partner!" he practically yelled. "The one that won the contest and this one that they just finished giving to me a minute ago!" he held out the sheets of music above his head as the band looked at him wide eyed.

"What?! Are you serious? How can they do this? How can we learn a new song in about less than twenty minutes!"Matt yelled. Marshall just shrugged.

"I don't know but that's what the contest committee said. They already gave the news to the other singer as well…you all better get to working on this new song quick!"

"Unbelievable!" Tyler said as he distributed the new song to his band mates. For the next 15 minutes, the wolves studied the song until they felt they had a good sound coming out of their instruments, along with their vocals.

mnmnm OTHER SIDE OF STADIUM nmnmn

"I can't believe they made you learn a new song Meems"

"No biggie, Debra does this to me back home. You should know that Michael" Mimi said into her cellphone. Michael had called her to wish her luck before her big confrontation.

"Yea, you're right" he laughed, "but still Meems, you're already nervous enough as it is, for other reasons other than music and learning a new song isn't easy"

"Yea, you're right, I guess" She laughed. However, she did feel more at ease now that she was talking with Michael. She had even told him of the lie she had created and he all but laughed. He had disagreed with her wholeheartedly but didn't judge her.

"Hey, I sent you a small gift. It should be there in the upcoming days, hopefully before Sora's wedding."

"Really? What is it?"

"Nope, you gotta wait girl"

"Meanie!"

"Well I'll let you go so that you can rehearse the song one more time alright. Give TJ a big hug and kiss from his Papa Michael"

"I will" Mimi said cheerfully, "Bye" and with that, Mimi hung up and she was left alone with her thoughts; Thoughts that hadn't left her alone ever since she stepped foot on Japan. She was nervous. She couldn't shake her nervousness. She carefully checked her appearance in the mirror. Everything was in place. All she had to do was step out unto the stage with her former band members. She exhaled.

_Everything will be fine, Mimi._

There was a slight knock at the door.

"Come in"

"Lilly, we're almost starting, so they asked me to inform you to already start making your way into the right side of the stadium. There the other dancers are already in position. Have a great show!" the petite girl said with enthusiasm.

"Okay, thank you" and the door closed.

Mimi looked back at her appearance. She inhaled and exhaled once more.

"You can do this Mimi…focus" and with that she walked out of her dressing room.

mnmnm BACK TO THE OTHER OTHER SIDE OF THE STADIUM nmnmn

"Okay guys, its show time!" Marshall said once he felt that they had the music down. "Remember, this is your big chance to make it back to the spotlight"

They all nodded, giving each other big grins.

"Hey Marshall, shouldn't we have met the other singer already?" Riker asked.

Marshall's face fell. "Um…well… yea you're right, but the other singer did not want to be introduced just yet"

"Why not?" Dom and Matt asked.

"Yea what is she like a ghost, acting all mysterious like that, sheesh?" Tyler joked.

"If only you knew…" Marshall muttered.

"What?" Tyler said but Marshall just shook his head violently.

"Nothing. Look all you have to do is just go out there and keep focused. No matter what! Do you hear me!"

"Whoa, calm down Marshall, we got this!"

"I hope so" He said dimly, "Just promise me that whatever happens, whatever it is that you see, don't stop playing"

"Why would we stop playing, Marshall, that doesn't make any sense?" Matt said. Marshall turned to look at him.

"Especially you, Matt" he said and Matt felt as if his gaze was trying to warn him somehow, "Don't lose focus. Remember that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a big comeback"

"Marshall…is there…something you're not telling us?" Matt said carefully. "Because what you're telling us isn't making any sense"

"Yea, what can happen that would make us lose focus and make us stop playing?" Dom agreed.

"We know how important this is, we wouldn't screw it up" Tyler inputted.

"Spit it out Marshall"

"I can't!" he barked. The guys only stared. For some reason, Matt got an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Why can't you?" Matt said, "Does it have to do with the other singer by any chance?"

Marshall didn't say anything. Matt nodded.

"I see, so it does" Marshall looked at him then.

"Look Matt, I can't say much, but all I can say is that this person…"

"Do we know her?" Matt interrupted. Marshall sighed.

"Yes" He said glumly, "You know her"

No one said anything for a couple of seconds. They knew the singer? How in the world could they know the singer?

"Who is she?"

"I can't tell you her name. All I can say is that she's from your past" He eyed them carefully. "That is why you need to stay focused! Don't be led by the past okay…"

"Is that why she hasn't wanted to meet with us before the concert?"

"I guess, I honestly don't know" Marshall shrugged.

"Well, we'll just see her as she begins the song since she is the one who starts the song" Tyler said as if shaking of the tension from before.

Marshall shook his head again, "You see, that's the thing, she's not going to reveal herself to the world until close to the end of the song"

"Why?"

"I don't know" Marshall said desperately, "All I know is that she's dressed as one of the background singers. The singers have been ordered to learn the song as well in order to hide her while she sings"

"Wow" Dom said, "She's really thought through. This sounds like a fool proof plan on her part"

"But why go through all of this? Why not face us from the beginning? What does she have to hide?" Matt said upset. He hated feeling this way, as if he had no control of the situation around him.

"Yea Matt's right. What's her deal?"

"Who could it be?" Riker suddenly wondered out loud. The others took a moment to ponder the question as well. Marshall just fidgeted uncomfortably.

"I don't know…" Matt started, "The only singer that I can think about right now is Gloria" he shuddered.

"Do you think its Gloria?" Dom asked.

"Could be…this sounds as something she would do…" said Matt.

"But why would Gloria help us get back on our feet?" Riker asked, "It doesn't make any sense"

"Maybe she didn't have a choice…remember that in the contest, both parties were not given the choice in who to work with"

"But then wouldn't she have just done a mediocre job so that we would stay where we were?" Dom said.

"Look, I don't know…I'm just thinking here" Matt said frustrated.

"Don't worry about it guys," Marshall said, "Just do as I told you and stay focused. Everything will be fine"

There was a sharp knock at the door that made them all slightly job up.

"Come in" Marshall said.

The same petite girl stuck her in the room and smile a big wide smile.

"Hello Wolves, we are ready for you. We need you to go to the left side of the stadium and prepare to begin the concert. We are starting in about a minute. Have a good show"

"Thank you, we'll be on our way then" Matt said warmly and the young girl blushed as she closed the door.

Matt exhaled slowly and turned to face his friends.

"Marshall's right. We need to focus. We're not going to blow this chance. Forget that singer." The rest nodded. "Are we ready?"

"Hell yea!" they all responded. They then grabbed their instruments and walked out the door, leaving Marshall in the room. He had been pondering something as he heard the guys talk about Mimi. He remembered a comment made.

"_Wouldn't she have just done a mediocre job so that we would stay where we were…"_

What Dom had pointed out made a lot of sense. Why didn't Mimi do a bad job? She actually had created a great song and won the hearts of the entire world. True, the world didn't know it was Mimi Tachikawa, but the moment he saw a picture of Lilly Rose, he recognized her. Although, it did take him a couple of days to put two and two together, he had been lying down in bed when it suddenly dawned on him who the smile reminded him of: Mimi. It was after the shock wore off that the nervousness came in. When she would reveal herself to Japan tonight, she was going to reveal herself to be Lilly Rose not Mimi. His only fear was that the boys would recognize her the way he did. Another fear would be if she revealed her true persona to the world tonight as well. As he walked out of the room in order to join his group, he made a silent prayer for things to go all right tonight.

mnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmmnmnmmmmmnmnmnm nmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnm

The concert had begun. The entire world was watching. They were falling in love with The Wolves all over again. Japan was proud of their group once more. Mimi watched on as she stood with the dancers waiting their turn. She felt a sense of pride as she saw her old band mates sing their hearts out to Japan and the world. She was happy that they were able to overcome all obstacles. She couldn't help but smile.

She peeked at the crowd and spotted her son almost immediately. The smile that was worn on his face melted her heart. He was singing along to every word. There were stars in his eyes as he watched his idol play along. Mimi knew he was having the time of his life. She saw Sora next to him as she too danced along to the music. When she set her eyes on Tai, she couldn't help but laugh for he was dancing off beat and made him look like a crazy chicken, but the smile on his face made her see that he too was enjoying himself. They almost looked like the perfect family. Mimi felt a small pang in her stomach. She wished she could TJ a real family.

"It's an honor dancing with you Lilly" she heard a girl to her right say. Mimi turned to look at the young girl and smiled.

"The honor's all mine" she replied, "Let's have a great show, shall we?" The girl nodded. They were up next.

The song ended and the crowd goes wild. Mimi inhaled. Here she goes. She followed the dancers to their positions. Each girl wearing the same wig as her with the same black long skirt with a cropped up halter sequence green top.

"Thank you Japan!" she heard Matt scream out into the mike. Her heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. She could imagine her son screaming as he spoke and in some way her heart broke.

"We'd like to take this time to thank each and everyone of you who voted for us in this global contest that has given us the opportunity to grow. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for all of you. Thank You." He continued and the crowed cheered louder.

"This next song" it was Riker who spoke this time, "We would like to sing the very same song that won us the competition. Here with us, we have our singing partner and from what we heard, composer of the song called "I cry""

The cheers got even louder.

"Now, as you know, we haven't met our mysterious partner. So just like you, we're going to meet her tonight along with all of you. We are very grateful to her for helping us in our journey to the top. Sources tell us that she will reveal herself in due time. So keep an eye out for her, we know we will" She heard him chuckle and the fans went crazy.

Mimi checked to see if her mike was in place. The rest of the girls had mikes as well in order to keep her charade in place until it was time to expose herself.

"Here we go!" she heard Matt say and the dancers took that as the main cue to walk unto the stage and get into their positions. The moment the music would start, Mimi would have to begin.

As she was in position, she couldn't hear the crowd, her eyes went towards the band members and she saw them for the first time in almost 6 years. They hadn't changed all that much, she noticed. They still had their youthful looks. Her eyes directed themselves to Matt and she held her breath. He was still as handsome as ever. Her heart beat rapidly as she ordered it to stop. She shouldn't react this way to him. She tore her gaze from him and lowered her eyes to the floor.

The music began…

[Mimi sings]

_I know  
Caught up in the middle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Matt sings these two lines with her]  
_Oh no  
Gave up on the riddle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Matt sings these two lines as well]

Mimi danced along with the dancers; she could sense the eyes of every member of The Wolves trying to pinpoint her out. Mimi only focused.

[Riker sings]  
_I know you wanna get behind the wheel Only 1 Rida  
Eyes shut still got me swimming like a diver  
Can't let go I got fans in Okinawa  
My heart to japan quake losers and survivors  
Norway no you didn't get my flowers  
No way to sound better but the killer was a Coward  
Face just showers, the minute in a hour  
Heard about the news all day went sour  
Lil mama got me feeling like a limit here  
Put you in the box just the presidents cigarettes  
Give em my regards or regardless I get arrested  
Ain't worried about the killers just the young & restless  
Get mad coz the quarter million on my necklace  
DUI never said I was driving reckless  
You & I or jealously was not oppressive  
Oh no I can't stop I was Destined  
_

[Mimi sings]  
_I know  
Caught up in the middle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Riker sings along in these two lines]  
_Oh no  
Gave up on the riddle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Riker sings along here]

[Matt sings]  
_Champagne buckets still got two tears in it  
And I put that on my tattoo of Jimi Hendrix  
Get depressed coz the outfit all in it  
Coz the press tell it all get a meal ticket  
Clean next get a call just a lil visit  
Sacrifice just to make a hit still vivid  
Rihanna kiss you on ya neck just kill critics  
Buggatti never when I'm rich, just god fearing  
Look at me steering, got the bossing staring  
Mr mike caren, tell his Billie Jeans  
Im on another planet  
Thank E-Class, Big Chuck or Lee Prince Perries  
Buy my momma chandeliers on my tears dammit  
Thirty years you had thought these emotions vanish  
Tryna live tryna figure how my sister vanish  
No cheers I know you wouldn't panic_

[Mimi sings]  
_I know  
Caught up in the middle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Matt sings with her]  
_Oh no  
Gave up on the riddle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Matt sings with her]

The moment was coming. Every person on stage knew it. The tension grew.

[Riker and Matt sing]  
_When I need a healing, I just look up the the ceiling  
I see the sun coming down I know its all better now_

When I need a healing, I just look up the the ceiling  
I see the sun coming down I know its all better now

When I need a healing, I just look up the the ceiling  
I see the sun coming down I know its all better now

When I need a healing, I just look up the the ceiling  
I see the sun coming down I know its all better now

As this next verse was sung, each dancer grabbed at their wig and the two closest to Mimi, with their free hand, grabbed at her long skirt.

_I know, I know, I know, I i i, I think of letting go_

Quickly, all dancers took off their wigs, which showed their true hair color, leaving only one pink and the girls grabbing at Mimi skirt yanked it off exposing some black leather shorts. Lilly Rose was revealed. The crowed went wild. The band members grew even more confused. They didn't know Lilly Rose, why had Marshall said they knew her?

[Mimi sings]  
_I know  
Caught up in the middle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Riker sings]  
_Oh no  
Gave up on the riddle  
I cry, just a little  
When I think of letting go_ [Riker sings]

The song was supposed to finish, but Mimi only turned to Riker and signaled to keep the song going. She had decided that she was going to show herself completely; a decision she had made since coming back to Japan. She knew it was time. The band listened to her and continued to play the tune. Mimi directed herself to the crowd and smiled. Once again, the crowd went wild. Mimi saw TJ waving at her and giving her two thumbs up. She smiled and winked in return.

"How are you doing Japan!" she said. The cheering grew louder.

Matt froze. There was something about her voice…something familiar about it. Matt eyed her carefully. She was beautiful, had an incredible looking body, sexy even, but what was it?

"Are you all having a good time?" A loud "YES" came from the crowd and she smiled.

"Wonderful" she said, "Well, I also want to extend my gratitude for voting for us in this contest. It gives me a great sense of pride to be able to perform again in my native country"

At this, she could hear the confusion spreading through the crowd and among the band. Matt was still in a daze as he tried to remember why her voice sounded so familiar. A voice from the past, he knew.

"Yes Japan, you are my home" she said taking in a deep breath, "You know me by another name, the world knows me by Lilly Rose" she smiled at the crowd. She dared to take a peek at the band behind her and she immediately saw their confusion. Her heartbeat sped up. It was how or never.

"But…I think…it's time for the world to know the real me, don't you?" The crowd cheered once more, Mimi went to her eyes and carefully took off her contact lenses. "I hope you haven't forgotten me…" she said as she reached for her wig. With a hard tug, the wig came off revealing her honey brown hair. She shook her hair in order for her long hair to fall from the bun she always had on under the wig.

"Mimi Tachikawa"

The entire stadium gasped. Matt was unable to move. She was here. Mimi was right here…in front of him. She was Lilly Rose?! She was the one that had helped them? What the hell! What was going on? He began to look at his friends when Mimi turned to look at him. His held his breath. She was absolutely breathtaking. She sure had changed these past few years. She looked more…womanly.

Matt didn't know how to react. The audience reacted sooner than him by cheering louder than before. He could hear people yelling "Mimi we love you", "It's Mimi!", " You're so awesome", and many other praises.

Matt was just rooted in his place. He didn't even know how the rest of the band was taking it. Mimi held him with her gaze. Then, shocking him, she smiled. SMILED?! Matt felt dazed. Mimi finally tore her gaze away from him and turned to look at the other members, also smiled softly at them, as if letting them know that there was nothing to worry about.

Finally Mimi turned to the audience once more and waved.

"It's so good to be back Japan! Thank you for this warm welcome! Are you ready for this concert to continue?" she waited for the response and then continued, "Well do we have a treat for you! Premiering tonight, The Wolves and I are performing a brand new song! It's called "Good Time"" The crowd went into wild mode once more.

"Right after this short break!" Mimi giggled. Matt's heart raced at the sound of her laugh. He still couldn't believe his eyes. Mimi was here.

Mimi waved goodbye, turned and ran off stage, The Wolves took a moment to compose themselves and followed her action. By the time they were there, Mimi was gone.

"It's Mimi" Riker said, "I can't believe it was Mimi"

"I think…I would have preferred it to be Gloria…" Dom said.

"Why?" Tyler asked.

"Because…at least with Gloria, we have resentment towards, not guilt like we do with Mimi. We were the bad guys in that situation…"

Riker and Tyler pondered on that thought. They had to agree with Dom. Matt however was relieved that it wasn't Gloria. He still didn't know how to react to this…this…situation but he knew that in a very small way, he was happy to have Mimi back in his life.

They walked into their dressing room and found Marshall waiting for them in the center of the room.

"Quite a shock, wasn't it?" they all just grumbled.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I couldn't but hey…I did try to warn you, you know…"

"Yea some warning…"

"Well, at least now the cats out of the bag…" Marshall said, "I can't believe she revealed herself to the entire world like that. I thought she would but I guess I never thought she would actually go through with it…"

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in" Marshall called out loud but he was only replied with another soft knock. He growled and strolled towards the door. Matt let himself drop on the seat as he allowed his body to gain control of itself.

"What!" Marshall yelled at the intruder but then gasped.

"Hello Marshall" Matt heard Mimi's voice as he sprung back to his feet, "Long time no see"

"Mimi…" Marshall whispered. Mimi smiled, "May I come in?"

Nodding like an idiot, Marshall stepped to one side and allowed her in. Mimi came in and stood before her former band members.

"Hi guys…" she began, "Long time huh?"

No one said anything for a moment, not even Matt. Matt couldn't help but look her up and down. She definitely had changed. Her waist was small, her bust had filled in nicely, her arms were slim and toned as well as her legs and her hips were nicely curved. These 6 years had been kind to her. Her hair was longer. Matt saw that it reached to her waist. Her honey colored eyes sparkled with the same sparkle it had many years ago. She was a bit taller as well, not taller than him of course, she looked to reach up to his shoulder.

After what seemed like eternity, Mimi tried again.

"Hello?" she said, "You guys here?"

As if coming out of his trance, Riker was the one to answer.

"Sorry Mimi…" he said, "It's just that, well, this is quite a shock to us…we…we weren't expecting you…at all" at this, Dom and Tyler nodded slightly. Mimi smiled.

"Yea, I know, sorry about all the mystery. I just didn't want you guys to freak when you realized that I was going to be the one working with you guys. I know I still had a disguise on being Lilly Rose, but I just didn't want to upset you guys, you know…"

"Upset us?" Dom finally replied, "Why would you worry about upsetting us? If anything, if I would have been in your shoes, I would have humiliated us the way we…" he halted and looked down, "The way we did to you 6 six ago"

Mimi walked towards him, making him take two steps back. "Dom, you said it yourself…"she smiled, "that was 6 years ago, that was then, this is now"

"You've forgiven us?" Tyler spoke up. Mimi turned to face him and nodded.

"I have" she said.

"Why?" it was at this that Mimi finally turned to look at Matt as he spoke that word. He was looking at her with such intensity that Mimi felt she was going to go up in flames.

"Why not?" she said. His gaze didn't change.

"I wouldn't have forgiven us"

"Well, that's you. You are you and I am me. Plain and simple"

"How can it be that you forgave us so easily?" he asked as he took a step towards her. As a reflect, Mimi wanted to take a step back but forced herself to stand her ground.

"Matt" saying his name for the first time, "I never said it was easy. When I left and reached America, it took me about 9 months to finally forgive you…"

"9 months? I would have thought it would have taken a little more than that" Dom said. Mimi faced him.

"My life changed after 9 months and it made me realize how stupid it was to keep holding on to such a grudge. It wasn't making my life and my situation any better. I decided to just let go" she said. "It was the best decision of my life. I was able to focus on me, on things that were going great for me."

"If you don't mind me asking," Riker said shyly, "How did you know you had truly let it go and forgiven us?"

Mimi smiled. "Someone very dear to me is a major Wolves fan and he listens to all your old stuff. When I realized that I was able to listen and see old posters of you guys, well, I knew that I was over it. It was a happy revelation."

"Mimi, I don't know.." she heard Tyler say, "It just seems too good to be true, you know. I mean, here we are standing in front of you when you should be telling us off and making us regret what we did but instead, you're telling us that you forgive us? Dang, Tai was right…you are an awesome person"

Mimi smiled at that. "Tyler, I'll say it many times if I have to. I forgive you guys. If that's what you guys need to hear, then fine, I forgive you guys."

She turned to look at Matt who was busy looking at the floor. He didn't look convinced. Mimi decided to be brave. She wanted everything to be good between them. It was going to be hard enough introducing TJ to them, most especially to him; his father.

"What is it, Matt?" He looked up at her. "Why aren't you convinced?"

"I don't know…"

"I do. I know you. Even if I haven't seen you in 6 years, I know how you think…" she took a step in his direction. Mimi didn't want to get too close because she was afraid to touch him. If her body was reacting with just the fact of being in the same room as he, imagine how it would react if she were to touch him, or worse, if he were to touch her. She didn't want to find out; not yet.

"You won't accept forgiveness unless you are tortured and bruised, huh? Just accept it. The easy way, not the hard way" she said, "I know you were expecting our encounter to be filled with yells, tears, and maybe even hard slaps, but it wasn't, that's just not my style. Accept it. If you don't, you're only going to drown in your own sorrows"

Matt didn't say anything. When he was about to, Riker interrupted him.

"Mimi" he said, Mimi turning to face him, "just for the record…" he looked at all of his friends, even Matt, "we are sorry. We're sorry for the way we treated you. We're sorry for the way we saw you. We're sorry for the humiliation, for using you, for everything. On behalf of all of us, thank you for helping us in making a strong comeback into the music world. You truly are an amazing girl. Thanks"

Mimi ran and hugged Riker. "Apology accepted" Matt felt an uneasiness as he watched the pair hug. He shook his head in order to shake the unwanted feeling.

"Mimi we're so happy you're here!" Marshall said suddenly. "Thank you, Thank you for helping the guys" she shook his hand enthusiastically.

"My pleasure"

"Now, if you guys, and gal, don't mind, we still have a concert to finish"

"That's right!" Dom said, "Let's go rock the night away huh Meems?"

Mimi laughed. "Let's go!"

Marshall, Riker, Dom and Tyler left the room. Mimi was about to follow when Matt's voice stopped her.

"Mimi" she turned to face him.

"What is it?"

"Um…I just…I just wanted to say…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry…"

Mimi smiled as tears threatened to come out.

"It's okay Matt…"

He nodded. "And also…I wanted to say that…you look good. You look…you look…beautiful" he said and Mimi blushed making Matt smile.

"Still react the same to compliments I see…"

Mimi flustered, "Well, duh, sheesh, I'm still me, you know…"

"Yea…I know…" He slowly walked towards the door, "I'm really happy you're here Meems…" he whispered making Mimi shiver with delight.

"Uh…um…thanks…me too" she quickly composed herself, "Well lets go, time to go sing" and she ran out as fast as she could. Matt stared in the direction in which Mimi had just left in. He felt a sense of pride knowing that Mimi still reacted to him the way she use to when they were 15. Maybe, just maybe, there might be something there.

mnmnmnm BACK ON STAGE nmnmnmn

"Are you all ready to have a good time!" Mimi said as she yelled into the mike. The crowd roared alive.

The music begins…

_Woah-oh-oh-oh_ [Mimi]  
_It's always a good time_ [Riker]  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh_ [Mimi]  
_It's always a good time_ [Riker]

[Riker]  
_Woke up on the right side of the bed  
What's up with this Prince song inside my head?  
Hands up if you're down to get down tonight  
Cuz it's always a good time._

Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care  
Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere  
I'm in if you're down to get down tonight  
Cuz it's always a good time

[Mimi]  
_Good morning and good night  
I wake up at twilight  
It's gonna be alright_  
_We don't even have to try_ [Tyler]  
_It's always a good time_ [Tyler]

[Mimi and Wolves]  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
It's always a good time  
Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
We don't even have to try, it's always a good time._

[Mimi]  
_Freaked out, dropped my phone in the pool again  
Checked out of my room hit the ATM  
Let's hang out if you're down to get down tonight  
Cuz it's always a good time_

[Matt]  
_Good morning and good night_  
_I wake up at twilight_ [Mimi]  
_It's gonna be alright we don't even have to try _[Matt and Mimi]_  
It's always a good time._

[Mimi and Wolves]  
_Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
It's always a good time  
Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
We don't even have to try, it's always a good time._

Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
It's always a good time  
Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.

_Doesn't matter when_ [Matt]  
_It's always a good time then_ [Matt]  
_Doesn't matter where_ [Mimi]  
_It's always a good time there_ [Mimi]

_Doesn't matter when,_ [Riker]  
_It's always a good time then_ [Riker]

[Mimi and Wolves]  
_It's always a good time  
Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
It's always a good time  
Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
We don't even have to try, it's always a good time_

Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
It's always a good time  
Woah-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh  
We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.

As the song finished, the whole audience was singing along. Mimi loved it. She was happy seeing such happy faces singing along to a song that they had just learned a couple of minutes before the concert.

"Let's give it up for The Wolves everybody! They did an excellent job didn't they?" the crowd cheered in agreement.

The show continued with Mimi singing a couple of her songs which the fans enjoyed until finally, the concert came a finish. With a quick thank you, both Mimi and The Wolves were off stage and headed back to the guys dressing room.

"Wow! That was quite a show, wasn't it!" Riker said as he smiled at Mimi. Mimi just nodded as she took a seat in the one seater near the mirror.

"Yea, I sure did miss this feeling. Haven't felt it in a long while…" Dom said, "Ever since you left…"

"Well you're feeling it again, so be happy"

"I am." He said grinning like an idiot. Matt just couldn't keep his eyes off of Mimi. He was afraid that if he looked in another direction, she would disappear. It still seemed too good to be true, even though, they had just finished having a concert together. It felt like a dream, a dream, he didn't want to end.

"Things will be different for you guys from now on.." Mimi said. "This is going to be your time to shine"

"Yea…all thanks to you Mimi" Tyler said warmly. Mimi blushed, Matt tensed. He hadn't liked that.

"You're welcome"

"So Mimi, what's new in your life? Do you have a boyfriend or something? You're not married because I don't see a ring on your finger…so what's the deal? You available?" Riker asked making Matt tense up even more.

"Um…well…actually… I have a"

She was interrupted the door being pushed open to reveal a gushing looking Sora.

"There you guys are!" she said as she went to hug each and every person in the room. "You guys were incredible! I loved your songs! I still have the second one in my head…" She said as she sung a line or two.

"Thanks Sora…" Matt said, "Where's Tai?"

"He's coming" She said gleefully, "He's just buying TJ a button he saw with a picture of you guys on it" she said pointing to the guys.

"A button?" Mimi said, Sora nodded.

"TJ?" Matt asked suddenly. "Who's TJ? Don't you mean TK?"

Sora eyed Mimi. Mimi tensed for a moment then cleared her throat but Sora beat her to the punch.

"No, it's not TK, TJ came with Mimi" Matt looked at Mimi wide eyed.

"So you DO have a boyfriend" Riker chimed in.

"Um…well, not exactly…"

"What do you mean 'not exactly'" Matt said a bit irritated. He shook the feeling away but found it hard to do. Before he could ask anything else, a little boy came running into the room. He looked to be about 5 or 6 years old. The moment he set eyes on him, Matt felt a small tug at his heart, as if he knew this boy, but he was sure he had never met the kid. He had honey brown hair and blue eyes. In some way, he looked familiar, but from where? He looked up as he heard loud gasps in the room. He noticed that his band members had noticed the young boy as well, but they weren't looking only at the boy, they were switching their gazes from the boy unto him.

Mimi tensed as the she saw how the guys were able to see the resemblance in TJ and Matt, she only hoped that Matt wouldn't.

"What the hell Matt, is he a brother you never told us about or what?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He looks almost exactly like you?"

"What? No he doesn't, get a grip" Matt looked down at the boy who looked transfixed looking at him. He knelt down and placed a hand on his small shoulder, earning a small gasp from the honey brown hair beauty sitting in the seat across from him.

Their first touch.

Mimi had witnessed their first touch. She wanted to cry but felt Sora's hand on her shoulder as if to steady her.

"Hey kid, you lost or something? Where are your parents at?" At first, the boy said nothing, then as if someone turned an on switch on him, he was off,

"Your Matt Ishida, one of the greatest singers and guitar players of all time. I love you. I have all your cds. My momma always lets me listen to you, I think you are the bestest best person in the whole wide world. Can you sign my button please, please,…"

"Whoa! Whoa! Slow down kid…" Matt chuckled. There was something about this kid that Matt liked. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but…

Around this time, Tai decided to come in, bursting through the door, sheer panic spread across his face. His eyes fell immediately on Mimi and he fell to his knees in front of her.

"Oh God Mimi! Forgive me please! I lost him! I lost him, he just ran and I lost sight of him, Oh God, I can't believe this! I'm the worst uncle ever!"

"Tai, Tai, calm down" Mimi said but Tai just wouldn't. He kept on declaring his apologies until he heard a small laugh come from behind him. Tai turned around and his eyes landed instantly on his source of tears.

"TJ! You're safe!" he ran to him and picked him up in a tight hug.

"Uh…Uncle Tai…I…can't…breathe…"

"I don't care! I'm just so happy you're okay!" he planted him back down on his feet again. "Don't you ever, EVER, do that to me again, you hear! Your mom would have killed me…" he straightened himself out and turned to look at Sora, "That's it, we're never having kids and if we do, we're getting one of those kid leashes so that they always stay near us…this one almost gave me a heart attack." Sora giggled slightly before going to her fiancé and giving him a nice peck on the lips.

"You'll be a great dad one of these days Tai"

"Yea yea" he said as he hugged her tightly.

Meanwhile, everyone was looking at TJ.

"TJ?" Riker said "You're TJ?"

TJ looked at him and nodded his head. "Yup I am" he then launched himself forward into the arms of Mimi.

"You were awesome! I liked it a lot momma!"

"MOMMA?!" everyone except Sora, Tai and Mimi yelled out, making the three of them jump up at the burst.

"Did…he just call you…momma?" Tyler said incredulously.

Mimi nodded, "Guys…please let me properly introduce you…to my son, Tobias James"

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Hello my Readers,

Once again, I'm sorry for not posting up this chapter quicker. My grandmother passed away last Wednesday and I wasn't in the mood to write anything. I also apologize if this chapter wasn't at all what you expected it to be. I did write it kind of fast because I wanted to upload something for you guys. I didn't want to make you wait any longer. Thank you for patiently waiting for me. Once again, I'm extremely happy for all the reviews I got for the previous chapter.

I hope that you were able to understand when who was singing what part in the song.

Hope I didn't disappoint much! Thanks for reading!

Much Love!  
-Tessa Raine


	5. Chapter 5

Hello Hello! I know that I've been saying this every time I upload, but its true, I'm really happy that you are enjoying this story.

Here's one more chapter! Hope you enjoy this one as well….

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Digimon…

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"Your son?!" They all yelled, with the exception of Matt who was too busy lost in his own personal shock to even respond.

'She…she has a son…' he thought to himself. He couldn't bring himself to believe it, but…but he had too... for he was looking at him right now. She had given herself to another man. She had given that man a…a son. Someone who was a part of each other. Someone who represented their union. Mimi had found someone who she saw worthy to have a child with. The tightening feeling in Matt's chest was too much for him to handle. He felt he couldn't breathe. The earlier chance of having anything with Mimi flew out the window in one quick motion. He had lost her. Forever.

"Matt?"

He wanted to cry, something he only did once before, when Mimi walked out of his life forever.

"Yo Matt, you in there?"

Matt came out of his train of thought as he realized Riker was trying to get his attention. When he came to, he noticed that the entire room was looking at him, even Mimi, who had a worried look on her face. She almost looked nervous, something he didn't understand why.

"Yea…Yea… sorry, what's up?"

"Dude, you just, like, froze up…" Riker said as he laid a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yea…Yea…why shouldn't I be?"

"Well maybe because we all just found out that Mimi has a son!"

Matt looked at Mimi, who quickly looked down.

"Yea…that was a shocker…"

"Yea and we were saying how much TJ looks…well…looks like you…"

This caught Matt's attention. What in the world was Riker talking about? He set his eyes on TJ again who was also looking at him worriedly. Why did they say this kid looked like him?

"What the hell are you getting at Riker? He doesn't" he said as he swatted his hand off of his shoulder.

"Yea man, you two look almost identical…"

Tai decided to jump in into the conversation, "Yea, I thought the same thing too, but Mimi said that TJ's father is someone from America…what was his name again Mimi?"

Mimi didn't want to look up. She wanted the earth to just open her up and swallow her up. She lifted her head in order to reply but found that TJ beat her to the punch.

"Papa Michael!" he said enthusiastically.

Tai snapped his fingers in agreement, "Yup that's it, that's the name she said"

"My Papa Michael is the best! He's also a singer like momma"

"Really?" Tai said, "What's his stage name?"

"He doesn't have one" Mimi finally answered, "His name is Michael Barton"

"Michael Barton!?" Marshall yelled, "Are you serious! I heard he was the youngest artist to ever receive a Grammy! He's one of the greatest in the music industry, especially at the young age of 25 years!" Marshall looked at TJ once more, "I can't believe I'm looking at the great Michael Barton's son" he ran towards TJ and grabbed his hands, shaking them gently. "Such an honor"

Mimi only tensed more. This was getting out of hand…

For some reason, Matt was growing angry by the minute, as if he had the right to be upset, but he knew damn well that he didn't. He almost felt betrayed by the fact that Mimi was able to forget about him so easily with this stupid Michael Barton fellow. He felt the need to get out of the there before he allowed his emotions to get the better of him and say something that will backfire on him.

"Well, I think we'll be taking off now. It's already past your bedtime TJ"

"Aww, but Momma, I don't have school tomorrow…please, please can we stay a little bit longer…._PLEASE_!"

"TJ…"

"Aww, C'mon Mimi, stay for a little while longer" Tyler said, "Hey! Let's go get something to eat…have you guys eaten?"

"No we haven't and I'm starving!" Tai said eagerly.

"Oh Tai, you're _ALWAYS_ hungry" Sora said as she playfully hit his arm and then gave him a quick peck on his check.

"What do you say Mimi? Wanna go?" Sora turned to ask her. Mimi didn't know what to do. She just wanted to get TJ out of the room but she knew there was no way of avoiding the unavoidable. She sighed and nodded. TJ let out a big HOORAY before, to Mimi's surprise, ran up to Matt and hugged his leg, taking Mimi's breathe away at the scene.

"You're going too, right Mr. Matt?" TJ pleaded with him. Matt looked down at the young boy who clutched at his leg. He knew that he shouldn't feel any type of emotion for the boy, but Matt couldn't understand the strong feeling of attachment he felt the moment he laid eyes on him. Perhaps…it was just the mere fact that he was Mimi's son that he probably felt this way.

"Well, if it's alright with your mother, then I'd love to come" TJ quickly turned to look at Mimi, never once letting go of Matt's leg.

"Please Momma! Can he come, _PLEASE_" Mimi's heart broke. The need in her son's eyes was just too much. She couldn't deny him this if she was already denying him the ability to know his true father, whom he currently grasped with all his might.

"Sure sweetheart, that's no problem"

"YAY! You can come, Mr. Matt!"

"You know TJ, if you call me Uncle Tai, you can call Matt uncle as well…" Tai said, "He is a friend of ours you know…"

At the sound of Tai's suggestion, TJ's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He let go of Matt's leg and looked at him with newfound eyes.

"Can I, Mr. Matt? Can I call you Uncle Matt?"

"TJ, I don't think Matt would like…" Mimi began. She had to stop this. This was just too much. Stupid Tai for suggesting such a ridiculous thing! Sora looked like she was going to murder her fiancé, although she knew he was innocent since he didn't know the truth.

"I don't mind…" Matt interrupted her as he looked at her. Mimi froze. "I honestly don't mind it at all"

He knelt down in front of TJ, "You can call me Uncle Matt, if you want" TJ, not being able to withhold his happiness, lunged himself into Matt's arms.

That did it. Mimi stood up. She needed air.

"Um…excuse me…I just…need some air…" and without waiting for a response, she walked out.

At this, TJ turned to see his mother leaving the room.

"Momma?" he said as he begun to follow her but was stopped by Sora.

"She's okay TJ, she just needed some air." TJ looked unconvinced.

"Look, if you want, I'll go and check on her okay, you stay here with Uncle Tai and…The Wolves, okay?" reluctantly TJ agreed.

For only being a child, Sora could sense the protectiveness coming out of TJ. She could see that he worried about Mimi. In a way, Sora understood. TJ saw himself as the only man in Mimi's life. He was the man of the house. He felt the need to protect his mother. Sora went out the door thinking of TJ.

'That kid sure is something else…' she thought.

Sora found Mimi by the women's restrooms. She was leaning against the wall, her hands covering her face.

"Mimi? You okay?"

"I'm sorry Sora, I just couldn't…" she said as she uncovered her face. Sora saw the tears falling from her eyes. She reached out for her, laying her hand on her shoulder.

"I know Mimi…I know"

"It was too much Sora! Did you see TJ? He's star struck with him…Uncle Matt?! Are you serious?!" Sora didn't say anything; she only listened to her friend.

"You could have said no.."

"C'mon Sora, you KNOW I couldn't say no…no way…they'd think something was up"

"Well, something is…"

"Don't Sora…"

"Don't what? Tell you how it is?" she said, "I'm sorry Mimi, I'm your friend and my job is to tell you the truth the way it is…No sugar coating it or anything"

Mimi didn't say anything.

"You knew something like this could have happened if you didn't confess the truth about TJ. What did you expect?"

"I don't know…" Mimi said, "I don't know.."

Sora leaned against her, "You're just going to have to be strong because I can assure you that there are going to be more scenes like the ones you just witnessed as long as you're still here in Japan"

Mimi nodded bleakly, "Yea…I know…" she said, "I have to be strong…for me…and for TJ"

"That's my girl!" Sora said hitting Mimi's hip with her own. Mimi smiled. She was happy to have Sora here with her.

"So, what do you say we go back? TJ was really worried about you. I literally had to convince him that you were fine, although I don't think I did a very good job." Mimi smiled.

"Yea, he's a little over protective"

"Yea, I could tell…has he always been like that?"

Mimi looked down and then shook her head.

"No, he wasn't"

"How'd he get like that?"

"It happened about 2 years ago…" Mimi began, "I had met this man at a café one morning and things started off well, you know…that is until his true colors came out…and he left my face all black and blue…"

mnmnmnm DRESSING ROOM mnmnmnmn

Tai went to join TJ, who had sat on the love seat. He had gotten very quiet the moment Sora left the room to go and check up on Mimi. Matt could see that he was still nervous since every now and then, he would look towards the door.

"Don't worry TJ, they'll be back soon" Matt said as he opened up his guitar case and dropped his guitar inside. TJ only nodded and then looked at the door once more.

"Why are you so worried? It's not like Mimi's sick or anything…" Tai said as he playfully nudged him in order to get a small smile from him, but it didn't work.

"She's my Momma…" TJ began, "I am…I am…her man…"

"Her man?" Tai said confusedly, "What do you mean?"

By this time, Tyler, Riker, Dom, and Matt had finished putting away their instruments and found a place in the sitting area. Marshall had excused himself a moment after Sora left.

"I'm the only she's got…" TJ said as he turned to look up at Tai.

"What about…" Matt said quietly, "What about your Papa…Michael…"

TJ shook his head, "Papa Michael doesn't live with us…" This made Matt straighten a little.

"He doesn't?"

"No, my Momma and Papa Michael don't live with each other" he said shaking his head.

"Why not? Aren't they married?" Riker asked.

"No, they have never gotten married…" TJ explained, "But Papa Michael is always there for me and Momma…well…sometimes..."

"Why do you say that?"

"He wasn't able to save Momma from Richard…" The guys could see the anger rising in TJ as he clenched his fists together.

"Who's Richard?" Matt asked, not liking the way this was going.

"He was the only boyfriend my Momma had after Papa Michael…" TJ said, "He was a really really bad guy…"

"Why" Matt whispered.

TJ closed his eyes tightly, "He would hurt Momma…He would hurt her a lot.."

"He would beat her?" Tai and Riker exclaimed. TJ nodded.

"What happened?" Matt said, feeling his own anger rising. He was seeing red in just picturing Mimi hurt that badly.

"He was nice at first, but then…" TJ paused, "He got really mean. He…He would pull Momma's hair and then he would hit…hit her face…her body…everywhere…"

"Stop TJ...stop…" Matt said, tears threatening to come down his face the way there already were coming down on TJ. If only he had been there…He would have rescued her.

"He didn't stop…I didn't know how to help Momma…I saw a lot of blood…He wanted to hurt me too…Momma protected me…He called me a…a…bastard…" TJ was sobbing now. "I…I don't know what that is…but it still hurt…" Tai reached for him and took him under his arm. TJ cried into his chest but didn't stop from talking.

"He said my daddy didn't love me…that…that…I was a nobody…that…nobody would want me…as…as…their son.."

"I would want you" Matt said suddenly, TJ stopped his crying in order to look at Matt, "I would want you as my son"

A gasp was heard from the doorway and the entire male in the room turned to set their eyes on the two female they had been waiting for.

"Momma!" TJ said as he hopped off the sofa and ran towards Mimi and threw his arms around her. Mimi hugged her son tightly. She could feel his body shaking.

"Sweetheart, it's alright, I'm okay…just needed some water. There is no need to worry about something like that right?" TJ nodded.

"I know Momma, but I thought you maybe felt sick or sad…" he said as he hugged her again, "I don't want you to be sad momma…"

"I'm not sad, baby, I'm not…" she made him see her face in order to see her bright smile. "You see… all happy!" TJ smiled a little at that.

"Mimi…" Mimi heard Matt's voice suddenly. She looked up to look at him and saw anger in his eyes. She froze.

"Why…why did you…"

"What?"

As if he had regain his common sense, he shook his head, "Forget it, it's nothing…" and looked at the floor.

"TJ was telling us about Richard…" Tai said. Mimi looked back at Matt who still insisted on looking at the floor.

'Was that what he was trying to tell me…'

"I see…"

"Why didn't you leave him Mimi? Why didn't you leave him when he started hurting you?"

"It wasn't her fault!" TJ said protectively, Matt looked up at his outburst.

"I'm telling you, he was evil" TJ said passionately, "He use to say he was going to kill me if Momma left! No one knew the truth! Not Papa Michael! Not Aunty Deb! No one! Momma was alone!"

"TJ.." Mimi whispered as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He swiftly turned around to face her.

"No Momma, they don't know…" he said with new tears in his eyes, "They were not there…"

Mimi hugged him again. She knew that it had been traumatizing for him but it wasn't until this moment when she realized just how much damage Richard had truly done to her son. Mimi would help her son get better. She promised.

The rest of the people in the room were quiet. TJ was right. Who were they to judge? Matt didn't know what to do…He was enraged.

"We're sorry TJ" he heard Tai say. "You're right. We weren't there. We have no right to judge, please…forgive us"

The rest of the guys apologized as well, while Matt only muttered an short apology but it seemed as if it were enough for TJ.

"I'm sorry too…I got mad…" TJ said as he looked up at Mimi and smiled, "Sorry Momma…I shouldn't have said anything about that guy..."

"Sweetheart, it's alright. What do you say we go and eat already? Aren't you hungry?"

In an instant, the tears were gone and a huge smile returned to his young face.

"Yea let's go," he said as he turned to everyone who nodded agreeing with him. They all stood up and began to make their way out of the door until Matt's voice reached their ears.

"One more question," He said, "What happened to that idiot?"

Everyone turned to look at Mimi who only looked down at TJ, then back up to meet Matt eye to eye, with a genuine smile.

"He's in jail for life," she said.

"For what he did to you?" Tai asked. Mimi shook her head.

"No…for murder"

"What the?! Murder?!"

"Yes, murder…he murdered his wife" and with that, Mimi and TJ walked out of the dressing room hand in hand, leaving the rest in shock at the revelation.

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Dun! Dun! Dun!

Haha…just kidding. Well there you have it! I know, this was a small chapter but I promise that the following ones I will make them nice and long… I'm thinking of making this story about 10 chapters long…even though I had said I wanted it to be shorter but oh well that's the beauty of writing, the story can just keep going

Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time!

-Tessa Raine


	6. Chapter 6

Hi again! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a couple of weeks. Life's gotten pretty busy, I'm sure you all know how that goes.

Well, enough chit chat, lets get on with the next chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Digimon or its characters.

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"I can't believe everything you've told me about that monster, Mimi" Sora said as they entered her apartment, "I can't believe you never told me after all the times that we spoke on the phone! I could have helped you somehow…"

Mimi smiled at Sora. She knew perfectly well that Sora wouldn't have been able to save her from the months of hell she had lived with Richard. The one who had actually saved her was her very own son.

The night he almost beat her to death, her son, being only three years old, had called the police crying telling them that his mommy's boyfriend was killing his Momma. Luckily, the police were there in five minutes, broke into the apartment, peeled Richard away from Mimi and arrested him as he tried to reach for her before they took him away. Mimi couldn't remember anything else after that since she had lost consciousness when the cops had tazered Richard in order to restrain him.

The next time Mimi opened her eyes, she was in a hospital room, two days after the ordeal. Debra and Michael had been called in and they were at her side in an instant. Debra had given her an earful for not alerting her of the situation. Michael wasn't any different. He had been furious. He even insisted on staying with her and TJ after she was released from the hospital, which he did. He also took her to the police station to file a report and put a restraining order on Richard.

Mimi always feared that Richard would one day come back and finish what he had started that night, especially after finding out that his wife had bailed him out of jail. Mimi could still remember how shocked she had been when she heard the word WIFE come out of the officer's mouth when he had called her to alert her of the occurred.

"_His what?!" she had said. _

"_What? Oh, his…his wife" _

_ "He…he…he has a…a wife?!"_

Mimi had felt so humiliated. Richard had truly played her like a fool. The next time Mimi heard Richard's name was at the end of that same week. The news lady announced a murder involving husband and a dead wife. Richard's cynical picture flashed across the screen and Mimi and Michael practically had jumped out of their seats as they stared at the screen. Mimi remembered feeling a cold chill run down her spine as her mind processed that the man she had met at a small coffee shop, whom she deemed nice and gentle at first glance, was in fact, a cold blooded killer. She was glad to have all that behind her, and she was glad that Richard was in a place where he wouldn't be coming out for the rest of his life.

"Crap! I forgot to go to the market," Sora said, bringing Mimi out of her thoughts, "I was gonna go after the concert but then, you know, the conversation got very interesting" she smiled.

Mimi knew what she meant and smiled in return.

"Sora, you don't have to go now, look, it's already going to be midnight"

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it, this is usually when I always go, there's less people"  
"Why don't we just go tomorrow? I'll even join you. C'mon, there's no rush, aren't you tired?"

"Tomorrow?" Sora all but shrieked, "No way, I need stuff for breakfast tomorrow. Mimi, relax, the markets about two blocks away from here, I won't even take long. Do me a favor, go into the bedroom and join TJ by following his example by going to sleep. I _know_ you're tired from your long flight, concert, and a long walk down memory lane."

Mimi shook her head, "No, I'm not going to bed until you're back, so if you're still insisting on going, then I'm staying up until you arrive"

Sora sighed, "Stubborn as always," then she giggled for a moment, walked towards the sofa where her purse had been deposited on when they had first walked in. "But fine, I won't take long, like I said, it's about two blocks away. Be back in a jiffy!"

Sora walked out of the apartment and Mimi stayed in silence as she heard the soft thuds of her steps going down the stairs. Mimi smiled to herself, and after a moment of silence, she sighed and let herself fall into the comfort of the couch with a loud _flop_.

'What a day' she thought.

She could scarcely believe everything that had happened. In less than twenty four hours, she had returned home, confronted her past – well, sort of – sang with her ex-band mates, revealed her real self to the world and confessed her dark past to everyone. It sure had been an exciting yet emotional day.

The knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts once more. She took a quick glance at the clock handing in the kitchen, which was visible from where she sat. 11:50. Mimi rolled her eyes, Sora must have forgotten something. She had only been gone for about eight minutes, there was no way she was already back from the market. Mimi chuckled as she raised herself off of the couch and walked towards the door.

"What did you forg…"

"Hello Mimi"

Mimi froze. She saw hard blue eyes stare back at her, the same as her son's eyes.

'How did he know where to find me?' Mimi panicked. She hadn't expected this encounter at all, at least, not this soon.

"Surprised to see me?" Matt's father grinned, "Well then, that makes two of us, since I was equally surprised to learn that you were back in Japan."

"Did Matt tell you I was…"

"No, no," he chuckled, yet Mimi caught a hint of –what- sadness in his eyes? "My son hasn't spoken to me in about four years now"

The revelation shocked Mimi. Sora had mentioned that their relationship had strained, but she never realized that it had been for that long period of time.

"Then how did you…"

"Find you?" he smiled, "I was at the concert"

Mimi's eyes widened slightly. He'd been there?

"Matt doesn't know this, and if he does, he's never acknowledged me, but I always attend his concerts. And imagine my surprise when you reveal yourself to the entire world." He looked her up and down and smiled. "You've changed"

Mimi tensed. She didn't know if he was here to do damage or if for another unknown reason.

"You followed me here?"

"I'm ashamed to say that I did actually"

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he said, "I wanted to meet my grandson"

Mimi's blood boiled.

"You're grandson?! You dare call him anything of the sort when I recall you bribing me to abort him! I won't allow it, I suggest you leave"

He shook his head keeping the sly grin plastered on his face.

"Tsk, Tsk, Mimi, why the hard feelings? All that's in the past. You've been able to forgive my son and the rest of the guys, why not forgive me?"

"You manipulated everyone, including me!"

"And the band was using you, I don't see the difference"

Mimi felt trapped, he had a point and Mimi hated that fact. She quickly looked behind her to make sure that no one – meaning TJ – was listening; she then turned to face him once more.

"Look, whether the point is similar or not, I do not trust _you _with my son"

"I see," he said, shaking his head once more, "So you're going to be difficult, well then, I can be difficult as well. The real reason I'm here is to convince you in the most nicest way, to alert my son of his own son's existence"

"What? That's not your business. If I decide to tell him about my son, I decide that, not you!"

"Actually, it is my business since he is my grandson. I've lost my son. I want him back and I'm planning on getting him back by using his own son."

Mimi couldn't believe her ears. This man was planning on using her son only to ensure that Matt would come back to him, under his manipulation. Mimi's anger rose. How dare he! How can he use family that way?

"As I recall, Matt's not your only son," she said through her teeth, "Why are you so obsessed in controlling only Matt? Why don't you pay attention to TK?"

"Controlling? Oh no, Mimi, you're mistaken. I love my son and wish only the best for him. My relationship with TK is different since he has lived with his mother for the majority of his life, while Matt decided to live with me. He knows that the only thing I do not agree with is rebellion against authority. I am his father and Matt decided to disobey me and my authority the moment he started dating you."

"It was all an act, remember? Or did you forget that minor detail?" she said sarcastically.

"I remember," he said, "But I also know that my son wasn't being completely honest that day in my office"

That memory flashed in her mind. She shook her head.

"What are you talking about?"

"When I asked him if he had any feelings for you, I knew he was lying to me. When I felt the lie, I knew he cared enough about you in order to lie to me. I did not agree with that so I removed the problem."

"Which was me" she stated.

"Sadly, yes, you and your unborn child," he replied, "Who would have thought that my plan would backfire on me and my son would basically disown his own father"

"Hurts don't it?" Mimi said as she refrained herself from saying anything else she would regret.

"Yes, well, that is why I am needing for my son to be introduced to his son in order to gain his favor and get him back under my wing."

Mimi wanted to smack the middle-aged man in front of her. He hadn't changed. What an idiot.

"Well I'm sorry to tell you this, but your plan has a fault, and that is that I do not agree with it. I will not allow my son to be used as a tool for your little game."

"I don't need your permission to tell my son of him"

"You do since I am his mother. I am the one who carried him for nine months and birthed him. I've taken care of him these past six years. If your _son_ missed all that, it's all because of you!"

Mimi could see his brow twitch in anger. She knew she was trying his patience but she didn't care. She wasn't going to be manipulated by any more men. She wasn't that naïve fifteen-year-old girl anymore. She was a twenty-two year old mother who had a reason to be strong.

"If you don't tell my son of his existence, I _will_ take legal actions against you and take him away from you and give the full custody to my son"

"I won't be intimidated by you, you will do no such thing. No court will take a child away from his mother, especially if she's been a damn good mother"

"Yea, good mother, right, " he said with venom seeping from his voice, "would a good mother, as you call yourself, put her son in danger by allowing a dangerous murderer to live with them?"

Mimi froze. How did he know about that? She had only told this story today. How was it possible that he knew it already?

"Shame, shame, Mimi," he said, the wicked grin suddenly back on his face, "Thought I didn't know about…what's his face? Oh yes, that's right, Richard. Well I do, the car ride over here was used to search your life these past six years and imagine my surprise to find such a detail in your rags to riches success story."

Mimi clenched her left fist while her right hand tightened her grip around the door handle, badly wishing she could just slam the door on this man's face. The nerve of this man!

"I admit, I was mislead by his gentle nature at first, but he is a mistake I will never do again, unlike yourself that only seem to continue to do the same one" she said.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, you believe that you can still manipulate the people around you, but you see, that's where you're wrong. You forgot one small detail"

He paused for a moment before he answered her.

"And what, pray tell, is that small detail"

"The fact that I'm no longer that fifteen scared and naïve little girl at your office. I, too, am a powerful and influential woman" Mimi saw his jaw clench up and she just had to smirk. "You see, you also keep forgetting the reason why I left"

"What are you getting at?"

Mimi pretended to think by placing her pointer finger on her chin as if she were thinking.

"Hmmm…lets see, I wonder how Matt would react if he were to find out that the whole reason behind me leaving to the states was because his own father," she pointed to him, "offered her a large sum of money to first, abort his baby, and when that was rejected, offered a larger sum of money to leave him. How do you think he would react when he realizes that the reason why he doesn't know his son is because his own father manipulated both parties to separate…hmm…I wonder, I wonder, I wonder…" she said as she placed her left hand on her waist.

Mimi could see that she had struck a nerve. She could see the anger spread freely throughout his whole face.

"You little..." he began but didn't finish, "Matt wouldn't believe you"

"He wouldn't?" she said in her same sarcastic tone, "You mean the son that hasn't spoken to you in – how many years did you say? – Oh yes, four years because he realized that you had manipulated him with that singer Gloria from the very beginning, wont believe when I confess everything that happened six years ago?"

He growled.

"You think you've won…"  
"Oh no sir, this isn't a game that I'm trying to win" Mimi said with authority, "I'm just not letting myself be driven by any type of fear that I once felt when I was in your presence. I told you before; I won't be intimidated by you any more. I suggest you keep what you know to yourself and _if_ I decide to involve your son in _my _son's life, then _I_ will be the one to tell him, not you" She concluded, "Now, I'm going to kindly ask you to leave, good night."

"I've underestimated you, Mimi" he said with a sudden calmness, "Alright, I will honor your wishes, I will keep quiet since I know it benefits me to keep quiet until the time is right."

Mimi didn't know if she should believe him or not but she decided not to push her luck and only nodded while she closed the door quickly. She waited until she heard his steps descend down the stairs. He didn't move for a few moments, and then the sounds came. He was leaving. Mimi let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She realized that her whole body was trembling. The aftershock of the encounter had taken a toll on her body without her realizing it. Mimi didn't want to, but found it impossible to hold in the tears that were threating to fall from her eyes. She slid down the door as the tears broke free and came rolling down her face. Mimi didn't know how long she had stayed in that position, but the sound of the doorknob turning made her lift herself off of the floor. She only had a couple of seconds to rub her tear stained cheeks clean and turned in time to see Sora walking in with two big bags of groceries.

"I'm back" she said gleefully, "Told ya I wouldn't take long"

"Here let me help you with that" She tried to reach for one of the bags but Sora just dodged her hand.

"No, no, you can help me put away the groceries, I got this"

Once she placed the bags on the kitchen table, she turned to face Mimi and immediately saw that something was wrong.

"What happened?"

"What?"

"Tell me Mimi"

"Nothing happened"

"You were crying Mimi"

"I was just remembering something, that's all"

"Don't lie to me Mimi!" Sora all but yelled, "Something's wrong and you're not telling me. Don't shut me out any more Mimi. You kept the whole thing about Richard and now you're hiding something again. What happened?"

Mimi couldn't hold it anymore. Sora was right, she did need her: she needed her friend. She broke down. She ran into Sora's arms and cried. She cried for her situation. She cried for her son. She cried for Matt. But most importantly, she cried for herself.

Mimi ended up telling Sora everything that had happened with Matt's father in those fifteen minutes she had been gone. Sora couldn't believe that all that had happened when she had left. Mimi had told her that more than likely, Matt's father had been waiting for a moment when Sora wouldn't be here in order to make himself known.

"But what if I hadn't left? Would he have stayed out there the whole night until the following day?"

"I honestly don't know…maybe"

Sora let out a breath.

"Dang Mimi, you can't catch a break"

Mimi chuckled. She completely agreed with her.

"Tell me about it"

"Do you think he'll tell Matt?"

"No," Mimi said, shaking her head, "I don't know why, but for some reason, I believe that he won't since he _is _desperate to fix his relationship with Matt, even if it is for the wrong reasons, telling Matt wouldn't benefit him whatsoever."

"Yea, I guess you're right" Mimi nodded.

"Well, let's go to sleep already, I'm so tired of thinking and wondering and…" Mimi had to stop herself for a moment. She had almost said she was tired of…living. Mimi shook her head slightly in order to clear her negative thoughts. Sora looked at her worriedly but Mimi smiled at her.

"And trying to keep myself awake" Mimi said as she laughed at herself. She noticed Sora's shoulders relax and smiled. Once the groceries were put away, they each went into their bedrooms.

Mimi walked towards the bed, where she saw TJ sleeping soundly. She stroked his hair lightly. She slowly bend down and kissed his cheek.

"I love you baby" she whispered softly, "I love you so much. I promise that I will protect you this time." She kissed him again before walking to the closet and changing into her pajamas. Mimi made her way towards the bed again and crawled in. She sighed as she found a position she found comfortable enough for her. For some reason, even though her body was screaming of exhaustion, Mimi couldn't fall asleep. Her mind kept going back to Matt's father. Then, her thoughts went to Matt.

One question kept floating into her head over and over.

'Should I tell Matt about TJ? Should I have father and son meet under the correct titles?'

_ "I would want you as my son" _

Those words still rang inside Mimi's head. She never expected to hear those words come out of Matt's mouth but when she heard them, guilt ate at her and she couldn't help but feel shameful for not coming clean right then and there. But what was she suppose to say? 'Oh hey Matt, remember that ONE time we slept together? Well guess what, this kid right here, he's the product of that night! Wanna get married?' Mimi sighed, this was harder than she expected. Well, actually, she hadn't expected for things to go happen the way they have been.

"Oh Matt…" Mimi whispered to the silent room, "How I've missed you"

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"What the hells the matter with me!" Matt cursed at himself. Ever since his encounter with Mimi, she hadn't left his mind. He practically had to force his eyes to stay glued on Tai or his dinner plate because if not, he would have been staring at her all through dinner. Having her presence back in his life, it was as if his heart came back to life.

Matt closed his eyes as he laid back on his king sized bed; he hadn't bothered undressing. The day's events just kept rolling through his mind. Matt clenched his fists as he remembered the details of Mimi's time with that bastard who had dared beat her. If he had been there, he would have killed him with his bare hands.

"Oh Mimi…" he whispered, "You've been through so much. If I hadn't played you, none of this would have ever happened. Would we have still been together?"

Matt was brought out of his daydream as his phone vibrated next to him.

"Hello" he answered.

"Dude, I can't believe Mimi's back in Japan!"

Matt smiled. He hadn't spoken to this guy in a while.

"Well believe it TK, she's back"

TK was in Kyoto attending university. He had already been there for about a year. He and Kari, his girlfriend and Tai's sister, had been together since the Digimon days.

"Dude this is so awesome! Is she gonna be at Tai's wedding?"

"She's Sora's maid of honor, so I'm gonna go with yes"

"Man, I'm still in shock at her transformation!" he said and Matt could hear the shock in his voice, "Remember when she was all tomboyish and stuff. Dang! Now, she's smoking hot! She filled up nicely in all the right places; you know what I'm saying, …" he laughed.

"By the way, how's your girlfriend?" Matt said a little irritated by the sound of his excited brother.

"Calm down, I'm not checking her out like that, I'm just stating the obvious"

"Yea well didn't sound like it"

"Sheesh, man, jealous much" He laughed once again.

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Yea, whatever" TK just laughed again. "Dude, I bet there were fireworks at your confrontation huh?

"Yea you'd think, right" Matt said, "but nope, none of them. She actually – get this – forgave us, including me"

"What the?! Are you serious! Well…I guess that's good no?"

"Yea…I guess…"

"Dang man, you just can't seem to be happy can you?"

"Anyway, how did you know she was back in town? You saw the concert?"

"You'd think right? But no, I wasn't able to see the concert because I had a final around that time. No, dad called me. He's the one who told me"

This news shocked Matt. His father had called TK? Why? What did he care?

"Dad?"

"Yea, he called me about three times." TK said, "The first two I couldn't answer him since I was still taking the exam, but as soon as I walked out of the class, my phone rang again and I answered" TK chuckled a little. "He was a little upset that I hadn't answered him but I just told him that I had been busy. After that was when he told me that Mimi was back."

"That's weird TK, why would he call you?"

"Maybe because you two haven't talked in a long time?"

"Whatever, its his own fault"

"I know, Matt, I'm not trying to excuse him of anything, relax. Anyway, I just figured that perhaps he thought I would know more about Mimi but I disappointed him again by saying that I didn't."

Matt rolled his eyes. His whole life, he had always tried to please his father. He wanted so badly to gain his attention that he basically sold his very soul to him. Because of it, he allowed himself to lose Mimi in the process. Yes, Mimi was a tomboy around that age, but Matt had learned her secret. He learned that Mimi had already had a beautiful body underneath all those baggy clothes she would wear. It was as if she were hiding herself. He found it out the night they both gave themselves to each other; that one, long beautiful night.

Matt had wanted to reveal her beauty to everyone but thought against it because he was afraid that if other men saw her true beauty, he was going to lose her. He wasn't going to allow that to happen. When his band mates came to him with the idea of dating Mimi in order to keep her in the band, he had been annoyed since Matt hadn't been interested in Mimi, but as he 'pretended' to be equally interested in her, he found himself gradually falling for her and before he knew it, he was hooked. Of course, that detail, he kept to himself.

After their one night of passion, Matt was the happiest he had ever been. He wanted to shout his love for Mimi from every rooftop but as always; things didn't go the way Matt had wanted them to. The following day, the band had found Gloria. Riker, Tyler and Dom were fascinated with her. Matt admitted that her voice was excellent, but he didn't want to admit that his charade with Mimi would be coming to an end soon.

_ "Are you guys sure that she's the one?" Matt had said. _

_ "Dude, she's perfect! Look at her!" Riker replied. _

_ "Yea, Matt, she's hot and her voice sounds like an angel! What more do we want! She's going to bring the sex appeal we need to this band, something Mimi never did" Dom said. _

_ "But she's an excellent singer!" Matt defended, "We've become popular among the people even with Mimi in the band! Doesn't that say something?"_

_ "Dude, relax, why you getting so worked up for?" Tyler said, putting a hand on Matt's shoulder, "We thought you'd be happy with this news. Now you won't have to put up with Mimi. You'll be a free man, Matt, think about it"_

_Matt clenched his fists but didn't reply. He only nodded in agreement and walked away. He couldn't bring himself to confess his feelings to his friends. He had failed Mimi. _

It had been three weeks before his father had summoned him into his office and confronted him about his relationship with Mimi. All Matt could remember was the feeling of uneasiness that he felt the entire time he was there. He couldn't understand it but the minute Matt had left his father's office, he had a bad feeling come over him the entire ride to the rehearsals.

"You know I don't want anything to do with that bastard. Its bad enough I have to call him family"

"I get it, but he sounded genuinely interested in Mimi, I'd be careful"

"I don't understand why he would be" Matt said, "She hasn't been in our lives for more than five years. Plus…she's moved on obviously"

"Tell me about it" TK replied, "She's transformed herself into an awesome singer!"

"Not just that" Matt said carefully, "She's also transformed herself into a mother"

"A what!"

Matt had to take the phone away from his ear; TK's outburst had been way louder than he had expected it to be.

"She's a mom!"

"Yup"

"Dang! Who would have thought.."  
"Not me" Matt sighed.

"Hey Matt" TK said slowly, "Remember that time, when you found out that Mimi had left without saying a word to anybody, you came over to mom's house and stayed for about a week"

Matt remembered it all too well. He had been so depressed; he didn't feel like doing anything. He had ran away to his mothers, a place he knew his father wouldn't find him, even if it were for a couple of days. Unfortunately, he did, and came for him.

"Yea, I remember"

"Remember how you told me that…well…that you and Mimi had…you know...done it?"

"I did?"

"Uh huh. You said it only happened once but that you both did it for a couple of times that same night"

Matt felt a bit awkward talking about this subject, especially to his little brother, but obviously, Matt hadn't thought about that back then since TK had been way younger. He never thought his brother would remember that conversation.

"I can't believe you still remember that"

"I do" He said, "Matt, do you think that maybe…"

"Don't TK" Matt stopped him before he could even finish. He knew where this was going and Matt was done with getting his hopes up. TJ _didn't_ belong to him. He belonged to Michael. "I'm _not_ TJ's father"

"TJ? So she has a son..." TK paused to think, "How can you be so sure Matt? What if TJ – hey! We almost have the same initials cool! – Anyways, what if TJ _is_ your son?"

"He can't be. Mimi and I only had sex that one night"

"Bro, that's all you need. One night"  
"Stop TK, I'm serious" Matt said getting annoyed with the conversation. "I don't want to hear it. I don't care if they say he does look like me, TJ is not. my. son."

"They? Whose they? He looks like you?"

"Riker, Tai, Dom, and Tyler say that he looks like me but TJ himself confirmed that his father is his Papa Michael" Matt said that in a mockery tone, even though he hadn't meant to sound so…so…envious.

"Dang sounds like this is bothering you big time." TK was quiet for a moment, "You still love her don't you?"

"What?!" Matt exclaimed, "What makes you think that!"

"C'mon Matt, this is me you're talking to" TK said, "We may not see each other a lot but I can tell when something's wrong. Matt, it's cool, I'm not judging you. I actually understand you. If that would have happened to me with Kari, I don't know what I would do."

"Luckily for you, TK, you're not me. You're a whole lot smarter than I am. You wouldn't mess up with Kari because you truly love her"

TK didn't answer but Matt could tell he was still on the line by the sound of his breathing.

"Matt, it's not your fault. Dad had a way with you for so many years but you see, you were strong enough to overcome it. You're free from him. He's not controlling your destiny anymore. You've gone through a lot because of him. I think you're even stronger because of him" TK sighed, "Matt, do you want to know how I know that I'm in love with Kari and that she's going to be the one that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with?"

"How…" Matt said.

"It's because of you"

"Me?" Matt hadn't expected that answer, "Why because of me?"

"It all goes back to that night, when you spent a whole week with me. All you talked about was Mimi. You even confessed that you loved her. Do you remember what I asked you?"

"…No"

"I asked you how you _knew_ you loved her"

"You did?" Matt couldn't remember. Had he been so wrapped up in his own thoughts and feelings that week that he hadn't really paid any attention to TK the way he thought he had?

"Yes, I remember your answer very well. We were in Mom's backyard…"

"_I screwed up bad, TK" Matt looked down at his little brother who only looked up with worry. TK wasn't used to seeing his big brother cry. _

_ "Why? What happened?"_

_ "The girl I love left me. She left me and it's all my fault"_

_ "What did you do?"_

_ "I played with her feelings. She and I, we were the real thing, TK. She's my true love, do you know what that is?" TK shook his head-indicating no. _

_ "When you find your true love, TK, hold on to her, never let her go the way I've done to mine."_

_ "Who is the girl you love?" Matt didn't say anything but another tear slid down his face. When he still didn't answer, TK asked again. _

_ "Is it that girl…what was her name…your new singer?" At this, Matt responded quickly and angrily. _

_ "HELL NO! She's not it! I…I only pretended….but…"_

_ "But what?"_

_ "Its complicated TK. She's actually all I have now. She says that she cares for me but I …"_

_ "You don't." TK stated. Matt nodded. _

_ "I don't"_

_ "What is the name of the girl you love?"_

_Matt sighed. "Her name is Mimi"_

_ "Mimi?!" TK gasped. He would have never guessed it would have been Mimi. "You're in love with Mimi? Our Mimi? The one who was really nice to me and took care of me and stuff" _

_Matt looked at TK. He had never realized that Mimi HAD done all those things for TK. She would comfort him when he was afraid and she would almost act motherly towards him. _

_ "Yes, that Mimi" _

_ "I never knew you liked her"_

_ "I didn't either. I don't know what happened, but she managed to get under my skin. Now…she's like a tattoo, there for life. She's like my soul tattoo, if that makes any sense" TK only nodded. _

_ "Matt, how do you know you love her?"_

_Matt was quiet for a moment, then he just shrugged his shoulders. _

_ "You just do TK. Love it strikes when you least expect it. It doesn't allow you to choose who you fall for either. But when it does, you're different. You're willing to do anything for that person. You would move mountains if you had to. When that person is around, you feel as if you're flying yet both your feet are still planted on the ground. Every other woman disappears and all you can see is her. You're heart flutters like a billion butterflies when you hear their name. You can't help but smile when you're with her. And when you argue and say things you don't mean, love always comes in to forgive. You feel alive, TK. You truly feel alive, as if your life has meaning, a purpose. It's the most wonderful feeling I've ever experienced in my life and it kills me that I've lost it to my stupid foolish pride"_

"When you said those words to me, I never forgot them" TK sighed into the phone. "This is why I know that I love Kari because that is how I feel with her"

Matt was speechless. He hadn't remembered saying that. He was shocked that TK remembered each word.

"You still love her Matt" TK stated, "Maybe she came back into your life for a reason…"

"Yea she did, as a punishment. God is punishing me for how I behaved many years ago. I claimed I loved her yet still betrayed her to save face with the band and dad" Matt said angrily, "Of course it's punishment, God's showing me how it could have been if I would have followed my heart. _I_ would be the man in Mimi's life and _I_ would be TJ's father."

"Matt, you've got it all wrong!" TK said almost laughing. "This isn't punishment. C'mon Matt, you've even said that Mimi's forgiven you! God's forgiven you too man. It's you who hasn't forgiven himself. Let it go! Can't you see it? Mimi's back in your life, because this is God's way of saying you're forgiven. It's your second chance. It's as simple as that!"

Matt's eyes widened. Could TK be right? Could this really mean that he could have a chance with Mimi again? Matt shook his head. It seemed too good to be true, which is why he felt skeptical to believe it.

"Stop thinking about it you idiot! That's what's killing you! You think too much! Just go with your hearts feelings!"

"I'm nobody important to her anymore TK, she has her son and her career now. She didn't feel affected by my presence the same way I was with hers. I just have to admit it. She's over me. Not that I blame her. I ruined my chances with her the day she caught me with stupid Gloria."

"Yea she was stupid" TK chuckled but didn't get a response from Matt. "C'mon Matt, be the fighter I know you can be. This isn't like you."

"I don't know TK. I don't know what I'm going to do"

"Seduce her again! Show her that you still love her!"

"I don't even know if I even lov…"

"Enough!" TK yelled startling Matt. "Don't go there Matt! Don't you dare go there! You love her and that's final! Why won't you fight dammit! Why! I can't understand that! How can you just accept this situation for what it is? Why don't you make it work for you!"

"It's not as simple TK. You don't think that I want to go right up to Mimi and kiss the living daylights out of her? I can't do things like that TK. She may have forgiven me but it doesn't mean that she's ever going to trust me again. Don't forget, little brother, love and trust go together. Like Tina Tuner said, 'What's love got to do with it' I killed the trust she once had in me and because of it, I killed the love as well."

TK didn't know what to say. Matt had a point. He did understand his brother but all he wanted was for Matt to be happy, finally happy. TK knew that Mimi was the only person who could do that.

"You're right Matt, I'm sorry" TK said after a while. He heard Matt sigh on the other side of the phone.

"No, I'm sorry TK. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up" He sighed again, "It's just that this is driving me crazy. I don't know what to do. I feel strange. I see Mimi and I want to hug her, make love to her, be with her, yet I see her son and I'm reminded that she's moved on. She had someone else's child."

"How old is he anyways?"

"He's going to be six in about…three weeks?"

"_Six_? I thought you were going to say that he was going to be about two or something like that."

"What difference does it make?"

"She must have been around sixteen when she had the baby, she either was already pregnant when she left or she _got_ pregnant immediately after she left…you get me?"

Matt was frozen. TK _was_ right. She _must_ have been sixteen when she delivered TJ, so that meant she _must_ have gotten pregnant at fifteen…

'But…I was with her when she was…fifteen…' he thought.

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Oh No! Matt's curiosity juices are starting to flow! What will happen in the next chapter? Will he confront Mimi with this new suspicion or will he keep it to himself? Stay tuned and find out!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Love reading your reviews!

Love,

-Tessa Raine


	7. Chapter 7

Hiya! Hope everyone had an awesome week! Here is the next chapter for this story. This is a pretty long chapter, but I only did this because I hadn't updated sooner, which I do apologize. I hope you enjoy!

I mention a song in here, if you want to hear it, it's called "If I Never Knew You" by Jon Secada and Shanice

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon….

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"Oh Mimi! You look beautiful!"

Mimi smiled at Sora as she modeled the Maid of Honor's dress for the bride to be. It was a simple royal blue heart shape neckline dress that reached the floor. It complimented Mimi wonderfully.

"When I saw this dress, I knew it would look great on you!" Sora said ecstatically, "I was right"

"Yup you were Aunt Sora!" TJ agreed with her. Mimi had to laugh at her son's mesmerized look. Sora turned to TJ and gave him a high five, which he responded with enthusiasm.

"Where are we going next?" he asked.

"Well, we already went to the bakery to check on the cake, to the flower shop, the reception hall to make the final deposit," Sora thought for a moment, "Your momma just finished trying on her dress, I think the next thing on the list is lunch, what do you say TJ? Are you hungry?"

TJ nodded vigorously, "I am! I am!"

"Excellent! Then lunch it is!" Sora said as she laughed. Just then, her cell phone went off. It was Tai.

"Hey baby"

Mimi took this time to go into the dressing room in order to change back into her dark blue denim shorts with her aqua sheer button down blouse. She could hear Sora talking on the phone with Tai, agreeing with whatever it was that he could possibly be telling her.

"Have you eaten already?"

Mimi finished up by putting on her black ankle boots. Standing up from the given seat, she checked herself in the mirror before putting the dress back on the hanger.

"Oh you're with Matt?"

Mimi froze. Her heart began to pump hard. _Matt. _Mimi hadn't been able to sleep comfortably due to that man. Her heart was troubled by just the mere thought of him.

"Yea sure, where do you guys want to go and eat?"

"I want pizza Aunt Sora! Please!"

Mimi heard TJ yell his opinion and it did nothing to calm her beating heart. They were going to see Matt again. She mentally hit herself for actually thinking that she would be able to avoid him when in reality, she would have to see him more than expected since he is the best man and friend of Tai and she was Sora's. She heard Sora's laughter.

"Sorry Tai, guess TJ chose for us. He wants pizza." Sora said with laughter, "Yea he's with me. Mimi too…uh huh…okay, go for it…we'll see you there in about…let's see… fifteen minutes?...awesome, bye sweetheart!" and with that, she hung up on her fiancé.

"Mimi we're going to meet Tai and Matt at the pizza parlor close to Tokyo tower. Is that okay?"

"Yea no problem" Mimi stepped out of the dressing room, handing the dress to the lady who took it back to its safe haven.

"Momma, we're gonna eat pizza! It was my idea!"

"Yes I know, I heard you buddy" Mimi smiled. TJ just went up to her and hugged one of her legs. Mimi had noticed a change in TJ since the morning. He seemed to be extra protective this morning. He had kept asking her if she was alright, or if she had slept well, or he would just hug and hug and hug her without reason, which of course, Mimi didn't mind at all, but she did find it strange.

"You okay Momma?" he asked for the umpteenth time. Mimi stared into her son's eyes and tried to see if she could understand his worry but was disappointed as she realized that she couldn't.

"Of course I am, sweetheart" Mimi caressed his cheek and smiled. TJ didn't smile back right away; he took a moment before doing so. When he did, he turned to face Sora while grabbing hold of Mimi's hand.

"O.K. Aunt Sora, we're ready to go, right Momma?"

Mimi only nodded. Sora looked equally concerned for TJ's behavior, her eyes meeting Mimi's but Mimi just shrugged to show that she didn't know either. With that, they headed out of the boutique and headed toward he direction of their car.

ozozozozoz PIZZA PARLOR ozozozozoz

"So your dad called TK to ask about Mimi? That's weird"

Matt nodded, "Yea I know, that's what I said, but TK wasn't much help to him by the looks of it, thank God"

"What the hell would your dad care if Mimi was back in Japan or not? I mean, I get that your families were good friends in the past, except for the last few years of Mimi's parent's lives, but he's never shown any love or worry for Mimi in the past, why now? What difference does it make to him if she's back?"

"I think he thinks that Mimi and I are going to pick up where we left off or something like that" Matt said, "Remember he wasn't too keen on the idea of she and I dating back in the day"

Tai nodded, "Yea I remember. That sucked"

"It did" Matt inhaled slowly, "But it still doesn't make sense. From what I know, even when we _were_ dating, he and Mimi never crossed paths."

"I don't know man, but you better be on the alert"

Matt didn't say anything. He hated the feeling of not having control, and because of this feeling, he hated himself because it was due to that particular feeling in which he felt exactly like his controlling father. Matt hated that fact about himself. For the past four years, Matt had stayed clear away from his father. He would ignore his calls, his presence at his concerts, his emails and whatever it was that he thought of sending or doing for him, he wanted nothing to do with that man. There had been a time where he idolized his father, but all that went down the drain when he realized the manipulative conniving beast he truly was. It was at that point in his life that Matt felt shame in being his son and the shame never left him since that day.

"Did he say anything about Kari?"

Matt focused on Tai once again, "What?"

"Kari. Did TK mention Kari?"

"No, our conversation was just on Mimi, but I'm sure she's fine Tai. TK told me that they couldn't come to the concert last night because they're taking…"

"Finals, yes I know. I just wanted to know if it was going alright for her in school"

"I'm sure it is. TK did sound exhausted though. They've probably been studying for days"

"Dude, I'm so happy we don't have to worry about that anymore" he laughed.

"Worry about what?"

Both men turned in surprise at the voice. Sora smiled at them as she moved forward to kiss Tai on the cheek before taking the seat next to him. Mimi and TJ were right behind her and, unfortunately for Mimi, had to sit next to Matt with TJ next to him.

"We were talking about school and how we're so happy we don't have to worry about that anymore"

"What are you talking about? I loved school! Didn't you Mimi?" Sora said. Mimi looked down.

"What's wrong" Mimi looked up to meet Matt's eyes, who seemed worried. She shook the feeling that threatened to overcome her heart. She shook her head slowly. TJ reacted quickly.

"Momma didn't go to school" everyone turned to look at him and then at Mimi.

"I was home schooled when I reached America"

"Home schooled? By whom?" Tai asked.

"By my manager and good friend, Debra" Mimi smiled. "She took me in and finished my education for me. She…she was my angel."

"I'd really like to meet her" Sora said, "I know I've spoken to her on the phone, but I would like to actually_ meet_ her"

"You'd like her Sora, trust me"

"Momma couldn't finish school because of me, right momma?" Mimi smiled at TJ once again, by this time, he had moved the chair that had been next to Matt and moved it to be on the opposite side of Mimi; she was sandwiched in by the two boys that lived deep within her heart.

"That's right. I was already pregnant with TJ and I didn't want people to look down at me for being a teen mother, so Debra offered to school me. Turns out that Debra had been a high school teacher before she made a career change" Mimi shrugged, "I guess it was fate I guess, because everything fell into place"

"And Michael?" Tai asked.

"What about him?"

"Where was he in all this?" Tai looked at TJ, then back at Mimi. He was thinking of how to word his sentence without insulting the boy's supposed father. "I mean, was he supportive?"

"Papa Michael? He loves Momma! He always protects her," TJ said with such enthusiasm.

"Not always" Matt said suddenly without looking up. He was remembering the story of Richard and his abuse towards Mimi. But just as quickly as he had said it, he had regretted it. The soft gasps that came from the woman sitting next to him and the silence of the child beside her, rocked his whole being. He knew he had passed some type of invisible line. He knew he didn't have any right to insult a person who wasn't present to defend themselves back. He hadn't meant to say anything at all, but just with the sound of idolization coming from TJ irked Matt the wrong way and he had felt…jealous…of the man. A man he had never met before but that had stolen the love of Mimi and gained a son in the process.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to…uh…didn't mean for it to come out like that," he said as he finally looked up and stared into Mimi's hazel eyes. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears, something that made Matt feel even worse.

"Really, Mimi, I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to criticize" he then looked at TJ, who's eyes shined with unshed tears. His heart broke. What's with this kid? Matt couldn't understand the pool he had over him. As he saw his hurt eyes, Matt had a strong urge to just scoop him up into his arms and comfort him. Without thinking, he suddenly got up, startling the rest of the adults, and walked around Mimi over to TJ. He kneeled down in order to be eye to eye and lifted his chin.

"Forgive me TJ, please. I didn't mean to hurt or upset you. It's just that the story you told me last night, well, it was hard to hear" Matt said as he took a quick glance at Mimi who had tears falling from her eyes. "No one should have gone through what you both went through with that monster" at that, TJ smiled.

"It's okay, Uncle Matt," he said wiping his eyes with his small hands, "You are right. Papa Michael couldn't help momma all the time…but…but after we got out of the hospital, he did protect us."

Matt forced a smile. "That's great" TJ smiled and without warning, hugged Matt. Mimi gasped again but just as her shock came, it went away quickly and she was wiping her own tears away. Matt noticed that she stood straighter and then, as if she had controlled some part within her, turned to the hugging pair and smiled.

TJ let go of Matt and Matt stood up and walked back to his seat. It was at this time that a waiter finally came to take their order. Once the waiter left, the conversation continued.

"Anyways, lets just change the subject to something more…happy" Sora said with Mimi nodding in agreement.

"So…why were you guys remembering school?" Mimi said.

"Oh well, it's 'cause we were talking about TK and Kari. They're in school right now taking their finals"

"Oh gosh, how are they!" Mimi asked, "I can't believe they're already in college!"

"Yea I know," Tai said, "They're growing up fast aren't they"

"I know…I wish time could just stop" Mimi said as she turned to face TJ, "Especially with this little one right here"

"No Momma, I wanna grow up" he said, "I wanna be a singer and a drum player and a guitar player and a piano player and a base player…oh! And a harmonica player!" Matt looked at TJ at the mention of the last instrument.

"Harmonica?" TJ and Mimi nodded.

"Yup, he wants to learn the harmonica…" Mimi began, "Want to know why?"

Matt nodded, "Why?"

"Because of you mister" Mimi said with ease. "Ever since he first heard our first album of The Wolves, he fell…" she paused for moment then continued, "he fell in love with you"

"With me?" Matt said with a silly grin, and took a quick glance at TJ who was blushing.

"Uh huh" he said, "You are my favorite. I wanna be just like you when I grow up"

"He really does," Mimi said with a hint of sadness in her voice, "All the instruments he listed, are instruments you know how to play"

Matt hadn't realized it but Mimi was right. He did know how to sing, play drums, base, guitar and piano.

"The only thing he hasn't learned to play yet is the…"

"Harmonica" TJ shouted. "Momma promised me to buy me one for my birthday, right momma?"

Mimi nodded. "Yes, I did"

"Well, if you want a harmonica, I can give you the one that belonged to me as a kid"

Mimi turned to look at Matt with wide eyes.

"Uh…no Matt, you don't have to do that"

"Really Uncle Matt?"

"Oh yea, TJ, Matt's old harmonica is special" Tai said suddenly, "It went through some adventures with us when we were in the Digital World. Matt always played it"

"Yup he did" Sora agreed. "It was kind of like a pick-me-up kind of thing"

"I have it stored away but hearing you talk about wanting to learn, I would rather it be played that put away."

Mimi didn't know what to do. She didn't want Matt to give something with so much value to TJ. It was as if he was passing down some type of special and valuable heirloom down to his son, which, in reality, he was.

"No, Matt, really, it's okay…you don't have..."  
"Please Momma! Please" TJ begged, "Please can I have it?"

"TJ please, it's rude to take sentimental things from people"

"But he's not taking it from me Mimi," Matt butted in, "I'm giving it to him"

"See Momma," TJ said again, "Can I please have it?"

"C'mon Mimi…see it as just an early…an early birthday present from his Uncle Matt"

Mimi wanted the earth to swallow her once more. She felt as if God was punishing her. Mimi looked around her, Tai, Matt and TJ were all nodding as in egging her on to accept, while Sora just look shocked at the way things had turned out. Mimi finally sighed and nodded, earning a loud yelp from TJ and a tight hug from him.

"Excellent" Matt said, "If you want TJ, why don't you two come over to my apartment tonight for dinner and I'll give it to you then?"

Mimi froze again. Go over to Matt's for dinner? No. She absolutely was NOT gonna go to his place alone, with her son, for dinner. It was like taking a cow to the slaughterhouse. She wouldn't be able to escape him. She didn't want to.

"Or you could give it to him on his birthday, we will be here you know" Mimi said casually, hoping that the nervousness wouldn't slip through.

"Aww, please Momma, I wanna get it now" TJ said.

"Yea Mimi, give the kid a break" Mimi eyed Matt.

"TJ, sweetheart, I don't want to intrude on Matt, more importantly, I don't want him to go out of his way of making dinner or anything of the sort"

"You wont be intruding" Mimi was speechless. What in the world was Matt playing at? Mimi couldn't understand it.

"Uh…" Sora began, "why don't we _all_ meet up for dinner tonight?"

Mimi looked at Sora with grateful eyes: Matt…not so much.

"That sounds like a _great_ idea!" Mimi agreed.

"We can't Sora" Tai looked at her. "We have a client dinner meeting tonight remember? I told you last night" Sora and Mimi's face fell.

"Oh yea…that's right" she said, "I forgot"

"Then it's settled, I'll see you two tonight," Matt said with a smile.

"Yay!" TJ said, excited that he was actually going to be in the home of his idol.

"Fine" She mumbled. "Where's your apartment at?"

Matt gave them the address and directions. The waiter came and brought their order. The rest of the conversation was of random topics, mostly the wedding, but all in all, lunch had gone well, at least, that's what Mimi thought.

"Before we go, let me go to the bathroom" Sora said as she stood from her chair.

"Let me go with you" Mimi said. She turned to TJ and lifted his chin, "You stay with Uncle Tai and Matt okay" He only nodded and then Mimi and Sora were off.

"So TJ, did you enjoy lunch?"

"Yea" he said with a small smile, "I love pizza. It's my favorite!"

"Really?" Matt said, "Mine too"

"You two really do have a lot in common huh?" Tai said while Matt glared at him but Tai seemed unaffected by it.

"I wonder what else you two have in common"

"Control yourself Tai" Matt said and then looked over at TJ who had turned to look in the direction of the bathrooms.

"Do you need to go to the restroom?" Matt asked him, but TJ only shook his head.

"What's wrong buddy?" Tai said.

"Can I ask you a question?" TJ looked up to stare at the two adults in front of him. He turned once more to look in the direction of the bathrooms and then looked back the men.

"Yea sure" Matt said. TJ took a moment before continuing as if contemplating with himself to continue.

"C'mon TJ, you can tell us" Tai said, "What's on your mind?"

With one more glance behind him, TJ spoke.

"I saw something weird last night and I don't know if I should tell my Momma that I saw it"

"Why not?" Tai asked. "Why can't you tell you're mom?"

"Because it has to do with my momma"

This caught both men off guard. "What do you mean?"

"There was this man who came to see my Momma" Matt gripped the edge of the table, anger rushing through him.

"What man?" He said, not sure if he was ready for the answer.

"I think…I think he was my grandpa"

"What?" Both men all but yelled. TJ quickly turned to glance at the bathrooms before turning back.

"TJ, why do you think it was your grandfather?" Tai said.

"I don't know. I couldn't hear so well" he said, "I could only hear some words. Grandson was one of them"

"Which other ones did you hear?" Matt said.

"Um…something about a secret…uh…a lot of money…wanting to meet me…meeting my dad"

"Meeting your dad?" Tai said, "That's weird, you already know you're dad"

"Did you catch a glimpse of the man?" TJ shook his head indicating 'no'.

"No, but…but I don't think Momma was happy to see him"

"Why not?" Tai asked.

"Because she sounded mad" he said, "She didn't even let him come inside Aunt Sora's house and…"

"And what?" Matt urged him on.

"And when he left…" TJ said looking down, "Momma cried"

Anger spread through Matt. He hated the thought of Mimi crying, especially after everything that she'd been through already. Matt had the urge of tracking down the imbecile who dared make Mimi's life hell. He hated seeing the torn look on TJ's face as he struggled to protect his mother. He was only 5, almost 6. No child should go through so much stress at such a young age. Before the men could continue their current conversation, both women came back to the table.

"What are we talking about?" Sora said cheerfully with Mimi beaming next to her. TJ was the first to respond, all hint of worry and sadness gone from his being.

"Music" he said smiling nice and wide.

"Music, huh?" Sora said as she reclaimed her seat next to Tai. Matt didn't want to look at Mimi but knew that he had to control himself because obviously TJ didn't want Mimi to find out and neither did he. He slowly looked up with a smile on his face and looked at the two women.

"Yup, music" he began, "I was just telling TJ about why I started playing the harmonica, that's all"

"Really?" Sora said.

"Yea, he said that it was because…because of…" TJ began.

"Because of my father" Matt finished. Matt felt Mimi tense up just a bit. "My dad was the one who gave me my first harmonica and taught me how to play it. He said it was the instrument that won him my mother's heart" He smiled faintly at the fading memory. TJ looked on with interest, while Mimi only stared at her plate, not wanting to hear anything about that man.

"Wow, did you win a girl's heart with your harmonica, Uncle Matt?" TJ asked innocently. Matt looked directly at Mimi, Mimi took that moment to also look in Matt's direction and their eyes clashed together.

"I don't know if it was my harmonica playing that landed me my girl TJ…" he said never taking his eyes off of Mimi. Mimi was the first to look away. Matt only smiled when she did. Tai and Sora looked on with great interest.

"Uncle Matt…Do you have a love?"

"TJ!" Mimi turned to look at her son, wide-eyed, "We don't ask personal questions like that."

"Aww, I was just asking Momma"

Matt laughed, "It's okay Mimi," he said, "I don't mind the question at all" He turned his attention to TJ and smiled.

"If you mean if I have a girlfriend right now? No. If you mean if I have a true love, then I would have to say… I do"

TJ's eyes widened and squealed. "Who is she?"

Matt's eyes once again found Mimi's whose eyes were wide in shock. "It's a secret…for now" he said before turning his attention once more on TJ.

"Um…I think it's time we leave" Mimi said, eyeing Sora the entire time. Sora nodded in agreement.

"Uh…yes…I think you're right," she said, "We still have a couple of more places to go before we call it a day"

"Aww, I'm already tired of shopping" TJ whined.

"Sweetheart, it's time to go. The faster we hurry, the faster we'll finish" Mimi said while standing up, Sora following her lead.

"He can hang out with us" Tai interfered. TJ's eyes widened at the suggestion.

"Yes! Please Momma! Can I? Can I stay with Uncle Tai and Uncle Matt? Please!" he urged on. Mimi felt torn. She didn't feel comfortable leaving TJ alone with Matt. She was afraid of what could be revealed if the two were left alone for a long time. What if they bumped into his father? The outcomes were haunting and Mimi wasn't ready to let go.

"I don't' think that's a good idea…"

"Why not Momma? I promise I'll be good! I will. I will listen to Uncle Tai and Uncle Matt, I won't leave their sides, I promise! Trust me"

"Sweetheart, I do trust you, it's just that they probably have things to do and I don't want you in the way"

"Mimi, he won't be in the way," Tai continued, Matt agreeing with him completely.

"Yea, we're only going to one more place and then we're heading towards Matt's record company because the band has practice"

"Please Momma! I wanna go with them!"

"C'mon Mimi, let him come with us," Matt said taking her hand, startling Mimi in the process. "I promise to look after him as if he were my own…my own son" Mimi was speechless. She already knew what she had to do but deep within, she was trying to keep it under control.

"Fine," she sighed, "You can go with them. I trust all of you so I know he'll be in good hands"

"YAY!" TJ yelled as he lunged himself unto his mother's arms, "I have the best Momma in the world!"

"You sure do" Sora, Tai and Matt said all at once.

The party of five exited the pizza parlor and said their goodbyes. Mimi reminded TJ to behave, Sora reminded Tai to check in with the wedding planner, and Matt reminded Mimi about dinner tonight. After all was said and done, they went their separate ways. The women began their way to their parked car while the men walked in the opposite direction.

"So…" TJ began, "Where are we going?"

"Well I need to make a quick call to the wedding planner and then, if all is good, I'm up for anything." Tai said.

"Practice starts in about an hour and a half, so I'm okay for right now" Matt said while looking at his watch. The real reason Matt was so eager for TJ to come with them was because he was hoping to finish the interrupted conversation in the pizza parlor. Matt wasn't able to think of anything else. Questions filled his head, like, 'Who was that man?' or 'TJ's grandfather lives in Japan?' It was very confusing and Matt hated feeling confused. He had to find the time to bring the conversation up again before his dinner date with Mimi.

Matt smiled.

A warm feeling rushed through his body at the mere thought of spending the evening with Mimi and TJ. He knew she hadn't wanted to accept but was glad that she gave in nonetheless. Matt didn't know what he was thinking, but all he wanted to do was see if perhaps there could still be something between them. He knew that he didn't deserve any type of second chance, but he didn't want to give in to that idea. Mimi had been the only woman who had made him feel…real. She made him feel for her. She had to be his, she just had to!

"What are you thinking about Uncle Matt?"

The sound of TJ's voice brought Matt out of his stupor. He looked down at the child whose bight blue eyes stared back at him with great interest. Matt smiled. This kid was making him feel as well, and Matt didn't know how to deal with that new feeling. He wasn't even his own child and yet he felt as if he would freely give his own life for this boy.

Matt noticed that Tai had excused himself and was now talking on the phone with the presumed wedding planner.

"I was actually thinking about your mother" TJ's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Momma? Why?"

"Well, you got me thinking about what you saw last night and well" Matt shrugged, "It's got me worried."

TJ looked down at the mention of last night's events and Matt mentally smacked himself for being insensitive to the child's own worry.

"Sorry TJ, I didn't mean to bring it up" Matt said kneeling down in front of the boy, "I'm sorry, lets talk about something else okay?"

"No Uncle Matt, I'm not mad" TJ said, "I just don't want Momma to hurt anymore. She's a good person"

"Of course she is"

"She doesn't hurt anyone. She takes care of me. She loves me. She's the best Momma in the whole wide world!" TJ said, tears starting to form in his eyes. Matt pulled him into his arms and hugged him. TJ grasped him tightly and cried.

"Hey, hey, it's okay" Matt comforted, "You're right TJ, your mom is an amazing person, trust me, I should know" But the young boy just continued to cry. This is how Tai found the pair.

"Hey what's going on?" he said with worry, "TJ? Buddy what's wrong? Why are you crying? Matt! What did you do!" he smacked Matt on his shoulder lightly. TJ lifted his head from Matt's chest and shook his head.

"No Uncle Tai, please, it's not Uncle Matt's fault; it's my fault. I'm being a baby," he said, wiping at his tears. Tai and Matt looked at how brave this little boy was being, even though his mother was no where to be found.

"Crying doesn't fix problems," TJ said. Matt was speechless. TJ's hardness was unbelievable. This kid was barely going to be six and he was already thinking like a grown man. It saddened Matt to think that this child had to grow up so early in his life. And Matt knew that it was all thanks to one man…Richard.

"Crying may not fix problems, TJ" Matt said slowly, "But they are needed to begin the healing process, do you understand what I'm telling you?" TJ didn't say anything at first, but then he slowly smiled and nodded.

"I think I do Uncle Matt…thank you"

"Whenever you need to cry, talk, laugh, whatever it is you feel like doing," Tai said, "Know that your uncles are both here for you, okay?"

TJ beamed at them as he nodded. "Okay"

"Alright, well, changing the subject, the wedding planner said that everything is okay so I'm free to do anything now. What do you want to do TJ?"

TJ thought for a moment before answering, "I want to go to the park and feed the ducks! There are ducks here right?"

Matt and Tai both laughed and nodded, "Yes, TJ, there are ducks here. C'mon, the parks not far from where we parked our car so we can walk from here"

"Maybe we can even get some ice cream!" Tai said excitedly, TJ matching his excitement.

"Yes! Ice Cream!"

"Alrighty then, to the park!" and the three men were off.

ozozozozoz MALL ozozozozoz

"What the hell is Matt playing at!?" Mimi squealed as they window-shopped. Sora just shrugged.

"I mean, what was with all the eye contact and the freaking display of emotion?! Ugh!"

"Mimi, did it ever occur to you that perhaps Matt never stopped caring for you?"

"Sora, in order for someone to never stop caring for someone, you need to have cared at some point! Matt never did, remember?"

"I don't know Mimi," Sora shrugged, "Why would he be inviting you to dinner tonight…or looking at you when TJ asked if he had a love, or even when he mentioned the whole harmonica thing? C'mon Mimi, think about it! There could be a slight possibility that Matt cares, maybe even loves, you."

Mimi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Matt loves her? That's ridiculous! Completely absurd! Yes, Mimi didn't understand what he was doing, but Mimi didn't want to get her hopes up from just a possibility. She needed proof.

"No, Sora, it's impossible." She said, and Sora just shook her head.

"Okay, fine, I'm not going to argue with you over something so stupid." She said, "But, when the two of you get married and become the family that you were supposed to become if Matt's father hadn't butted in, I will tell you 'I told you so', so be prepared"

Mimi just rolled her eyes and let the subject drop.

"So…speaking of tonight…" Sora began again, "What are you going to wear?"

ozozozozoz THE PARK ozozozozoz

"Are you sure you're happy with just vanilla? Don't you want another flavor?" Tai asked TJ who grabbed his cone from his hand. They had left the park and were now making their way down the street where their car was parked. As promised, they stopped to buy ice cream with TJ choosing only vanilla, not even glancing at the other thirty-one flavors.

"Uh huh, I'm sure. Vanilla is my favorite," he said as he began to lick his cone.

"Mine too" Matt said as he ate his vanilla cone. TJ looked up at Matt, clearly unaware that his idol had the same taste in ice cream as he did.

"You like Vanilla too?"

"Yup, always have, always will"

"Me too, I'm always going to like vanilla" TJ said happily, "Momma says I'm just like my daddy"

Michael Barton's name ran across Matt's brain.

"Why?"

"Because Momma says that I like all the things he does. She sometimes feels jealous that I don't like any of her stuff," he continued, "But that's not true, I do like something of Momma"

"What do you like?"

"I like her perfume" TJ smiled. Matt and Tai looked confusedly at each other.

"Her…perfume?" TJ nodded vigorously.

"Yup! Wanna know why…" Both men nodded.

"Because it smells like vanilla!" TJ laughed and at the sound of his laughter, Tai and Matt joined in.

"That's right! Mimi always smelled of vanilla, remember"

Matt remembered all right. It was because of her that he started liking the taste and smell of vanilla even more since he already liked vanilla. He never imagined how wonderful the scent of vanilla would smell on a girl. The night they made love, Matt didn't want to let her go because he found himself completely addicted to her because she smelled so sweet.

"Momma used it here?" TJ said confusedly. Tai nodded.

"Yea, that was her scent. And whoa, she would literally shower herself in perfume, even in the Digital World, but it was a good smell, I liked it" Tai's eyes widened and then turned to look around.

"Just don't tell that to your Aunt Sora okay" TJ giggled at his silliness.

"Momma didn't tell me that she use to wear it here…" TJ said becoming serious again. "She said that she started wearing it to get my daddy to like her"

Tai and Matt stared at TJ bewildered. They were pretty sure that the scent that they had always smelled on Mimi was vanilla and nothing else. Why would TJ say that she started using it when she met his father?

"Well, that's weird, maybe we'll ask her later to find out" TJ nodded at Tai's suggestion. Matt just kept on thinking. He couldn't get TJ's concerns out of his head. How could Mimi lie to her son? Especially over something so idiotic like perfume? It just didn't make any sense to Matt. He shrugged if off and began walking in the direction that both TJ and Tai had begun to walk in.

ozozozozoz RECORD BUILDING ozozozozoz

"TJ!" the guys yelled as Matt, Tai and TJ entered the practice room. TJ smiled as he ran towards them, jumping in the arms of the first guy he came to, Riker.

"Whatcha doin' here lil' man?"

"I went shopping with Momma and Aunt Sora," TJ said as he moved on to hug Dom and Ryder, "Then we ate pizza and Momma let me go with Uncle Matt and Uncle Tai to the park and then we got ice cream! It was fun!" He finished as he made his way he couch and sat down next to an open laptop.

"Cool, it sure does sound like you had fun" Riker said as he sat on the opposite side of the laptop.

"Yea, also, tonight, Momma and I are gonna have dinner with Uncle Matt!"

At this, three pairs of eyes focused on Matt. Matt could only imagine what was going through their minds.

"Really?" Dom continued as he turned his attention to TJ once again. "Interesting…"

"What's interesting?" TJ asked. Dom smiled at him as he explained.

"It's interesting because when they were youn…"

"Dom, enough" Matt interrupted, "Don't bore the kid with things like that, lets focus on practicing huh?" Matt walked across the room feeling a bit agitated and he couldn't understand why. He had a strong urge of keeping his past with Mimi a secret from TJ. Matt realized that it was because he was afraid of TJ's reaction if he knew the whole truth between his mother and himself. He walked over to his guitar and picked it up.

"Sorry little man, maybe some other time" TJ only nodded confusedly. It was at that moment that TJ, for the first time, noticed the laptop sitting next to him. It wasn't entirely closed, so he raised the screen and his eyes widened at the sight.

"Hey! It's my Momma" TJ said excitedly. Matt was the first to turn towards the entrance expecting to see two young women walking in, but found himself looking at an empty doorway. He heard TJ's voice again and moved his eyes towards the resting area where he finally saw the boy looking intensely at a laptop screen.

"Oh yea, we were watching some of her videos" Riker said, while Dom and Ryder only nodded in agreement.

"Yea, we've obviously heard of Lily Rose, but we never bothered to listen to any of her music" Dom added.

"But now that we know that Lilly is Mimi, well, we wanted to see just what kind of music she's been making…" Ryder looked sheepishly to the ground as if that wasn't the entire reason as to why they had been looking at video after video after video.

"What is it?" TJ asked softly. Riker was the first to reply.

"Well, the truth is…"

"We actually wanted to see…"

"We were hoping to see if Mimi and her…"

"We wanted to see how your father looked" all three finished at the same time. TJ looked surprised at first, but then, he began to giggle.

"You guys are so silly!" he said as he laughed. Matt watched on as the initial shock from his friends wore off. Were they stupid or something!? Why on earth would they want to know how TJ's father looks like?! Matt badly wanted to kick each of his band mates for their stupidity.

"Did you type his name only?"

"Uh…well…you see…the thing is…" Ryder began.

"We were going to do that…but…" Dom continued.

"But we…we couldn't remember…his…his last name..." Riker finished. TJ only giggled harder as he began typing away in the computer.

"Here" TJ said, "Here he is…Papa Michael!"

Quickly, TJ found himself surrounded by five males, each shoving each other in order to get a better look of the blond blue-eyed man. Matt found himself feeling even stranger than he already was. Half of him didn't want to look at the man who had won Mimi's love from him, but the other half was interested in seeing him artistically. Was he better than he was? Were they the same? Did he stand a chance?

"All these are videos from Papa Michael" TJ began to explain. "Momma and Papa Michael sing together sometimes" he began to scroll through the many videos that appeared on the screen. "Wanna know which one is my favorite?"

"Yea, show us TJ" Tai said excitedly. "What's the name of the song?"

"It's called 'If I Never Knew You'"

"Why do you like it so much?"

"I don't know…Momma always seems happy when she sings this song…" without saying another word, TJ set the laptop beside him, not bothering to press play, which everyone had expected him to do.

"It's a good song," he said smiling up at them.

"Guess we'll have to hear it sometime…" Tai said, "Does Mimi sing it because of your dad?"

TJ shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I just know that whenever she sings it, she's happy…so I think that maybe it is about my dad"

"What's the meaning behind the song? Do you know?"

"What kind of a question is that to ask a 5 year old, Dom, sheesh!" Ryder said as he hit him at the back of his head.

"Ouch! What? Its just a question, sheesh, he gets what I mean, right TJ?" TJ giggled and nodded.

"I'm really smart you know, best one from my class"

"I knew you would be" Tai said shuffling his hair.

"I don't know if I'm right, but I think that the song talks about no regrets."

"You know what regret means?" Riker said, clearly surprised at TJ's high vocabulary.

"Yea…"

"Wow, you _are_ smart"

"Thank you" TJ smiled brightly, "Momma always tells me that you have to live your life with no regrets. She says that we only have one life to live… but if we live it right, one life is enough…" he scratched his head slightly, "I think she got that from a man named Benjamin...Franklin?" he then nodded, "Yea, Benjamin Franklin...Momma said he was a wise man…he's dead now, been dead for a long time, but he was really smart" he finished.

The rest of the males in the room were speechless. The knowledge this child possessed shocked them to the core. He knew American historical figures, quotes; his philosophy on life was a mature wise one. It was unbelievable. Matt's admiration for the boy heightened. Mimi was doing an excellent job raising her son.

"So the song is about having no regrets huh?" Riker said softly.

"Guess that explains why she forgave us so easily?" Dom said.

"What are you talking about? She said that it was because she didn't want it to make her bitter and that something happened to make her be the better person…or something like that"

"Yea, but c'mon Riker, we were horrible back then, it's not fair for us to get off so easily, you know what I'm sayin…" Ryder added.

"Guys just let it go…Mimi has" Tai said intervening. "Stop beating yourselves us over the past already"

"What are you talking about?" TJ's voice rose above the whispers and groans. All eyes turned to face him. They had forgotten that the child did not know of their past. Tai placed a hand on his shoulder and smiles.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. It's in the past, it doesn't matter"

"What doesn't matter, Uncle Tai, I wanna know, please" TJ pleaded, "Is it about my Momma?"

Tai turned to look at the rest of the group, their heads all lowered in shame. Tai exhaled slowly and turned his attention back to the pleading boy.

"I won't lie to you TJ, it does, but you're Momma forgave these guys a long time ago"

"Why? What did they do?" He turned to face the group and asked the question directly to them, "What did you do?"

At first, no one said anything. They didn't know how to explain what happened years ago to a small child. A child that had idolized them since the very first time he heard them. His reaction to their actions in the past terrified them completely. They were afraid to lose the respect he had toward the group, but they didn't want to lie to him either.

"We…We…" Dom stuttered.

"Well you see TJ…about…" Ryder tried his luck.

"Yea…about 5 years ago…we…we were…you know…young and stupid…and…well…" Riker admitted but it was Matt who told it to him straight.

"About 5 years ago, we embarrassed and humiliated your mother in the worst possible way. We were unhappy with the way she looked and we played her for a fool. When she found out, she left the group, moved to America, met your father, had you, became famous, became…" Matt stopped for a second before continuing; "She became happy" he finished. TJ was speechless. He hadn't expected such a confession to pour out of his idol's mouth.

"You all hurt my Momma?" All band members nodded sadly.

"Why?" he asked sadly, "Why would you all do that?"

"It's like Riker said, we were young and stupid. We didn't know the meaning and true beauty of Mimi's talent" Matt continued, ready to accept judgment.

"And Momma forgave you?" He nodded.

"She did. She said she forgave us 5 years ago but we barely knew of her forgiveness since yesterday during the intermission"

"It's cause Momma is a good person" TJ said proudly, then slowly, he smiled. "She is the best person in the whole wide world" Matt smiled and nodded.

"Yes, you're right. She truly is" TJ was silent for a moment, as if he were in deep thought.

"Well, if Momma forgave you, then I forgive you too" he said, "I just feel sad for my Momma"

"Don't TJ, she doesn't feel sad for herself, so you shouldn't either" Tai told him.

Just then, laughter could be heard from the hallway coming into the practice room. A minute later, both Sora and Mimi walked in; still laughing from whatever it is that they had been saying. The moment TJ saw Mimi, he jumped off the sofa and ran to her, slamming into her legs and squeezing them tightly.

"Oh dear, sweetheart, you're holding onto me pretty tight there" she said as she giggled. When TJ looked up to her, she immediately saw unshed tears in his eyes and the laughter in her eyes and tone was gone.

"TJ, what's wrong?" TJ only shook his head.

"Nothing. I…I just missed you Momma" Mimi didn't feel convinced, so she looked up and stared at the men.

"What happened?" No one said anything at first, until Matt stepped up again.

"We told him the truth Mimi" Mimi's heart stopped. The truth? The truth about what? About his origin? His father? What? Mimi began to panic and couldn't seem to keep her breathing stable. She forced herself to relax and swallow before replying.

"What are you talking about? What truth?"

"The truth of our treatment towards you when you were in the band years ago"

That's it? Mimi felt a heavy weight lift off of her shoulders. She relaxed even more as the words left Matt's mouth. Given, Mimi wasn't too thrilled that her son knew of the ugly past between her and the Wolves but that truth was better than that of his real father being revealed.

"Oh…" she looked down and TJ and smiled. "Sweetheart, are you really going to cry over something that happened years ago and that I have put behind me?"

"But…but…you must have been so sad…"

"I was at first, but not anymore, I promise"

"Okay Momma, I believe you"

"Good, now what do you say we go home and rest for a while huh?" TJ nodded vigorously.

"Maybe after your nap you can swim again in the big big pool" Sora added in. TJ's eyes widened.

"Yes! I like that plan! Can I Momma?" Mimi laughed at his sudden change of mood.

"Of course sweetheart"

"Yay!"

"Good, he's happy again" Riker said smiling.

"Yea, we didn't like him sad" Dom agreed.

"Well, you ladies and young man, enjoy the rest of your day, we got some practicing to do, right Matt?"

Matt was looking at Mimi intensely, her motherly nature stirring up deep emotions in him. The way she nurtured TJ and consoled him moved him completely. He had had a strong urge to walk up to them, wrap them in his strong arms, and let them know that everything would be all right because he was there to protect them. The sad look in TJ's face when he had confessed, in light, what he and his friends had done, destroyed him. Matt was beginning to worry how much affect this child was having on him. He told himself that he shouldn't get too attach to him but his whole being was screaming to hold him, to comfort him, to make him smile, to encourage him, to anything. He wanted complete honesty between the both of them; no secrets. But in the back of Matt's mind, he knew that he was withholding, along with everyone else, one more secret: his past relationship with Mimi and his involvement in humiliating her.

"Tai, are you coming with us, or are you going to stay to hear them practice?" Sora asked. Tai looked at his watched and Sora saw his eyes widening.

"Oh crap! The meeting!" He turned to look at Matt, "Sorry buddy, gotta run. Meeting starts in about two hours so I gotta go home and prepare myself"

"And shower" Sora added.

"Right. And shower" Tai agreed. He excused himself from the rest of the group and began to walk out the door with the women and TJ.

"Mimi"

Mimi turned at the sound of Matt's voice. The intensity in his tone sent shivers down her spine. Why was it that he was the only one who had the power to make her body react that way?

"Don't forget," he said as he smiled slightly, "Dinner tonight. 7 o'clock. My place"

"Don't worry, we'll be there" and with that she walked out of the room, leaving Matt staring at an empty doorway smiling like an idiot.

"It's a date then" he whispered, "Looking forward to it"

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Hello my lovelies, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 7, only three more chapters to go until we see the end of Like OMG Baby! I hope you have been enjoying it up until now. I hope to make the last three chapters as interesting as possible. Again I apologize for the long wait but the school year was finishing, then my birthday, JUNE 1 (Whoop! Whoop!) passed, and then my dog almost died of a heatstroke (So scary! – Here but only by the grace of God - SeRiOuSly, it was that bad) but thankfully, everything came out well. He's as healthy as can be now.

Anyway, I am really enjoying your reviews. They really are encouraging and they make me want to continue to finish the story! So please review! I'm sorry if there are grammatical errors, I did revise, but I'm submitting this at 1:30am, so if there are mistakes, please forgive me

Once again, Please review! Love to hear from you!

Much Love and Blessings,

Tessa Raine


	8. Chapter 8

**Another chapter completed! I hope that you are all enjoying the story so far.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon.**

**By the way: the clip from the first song is by Carly Rae Jepsen "This Kiss" and "Perfect Harmony" by the Rags Cast (I suggest you play this song when it comes up)**

**Here we go…**

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_This kiss is something I can't resist  
Your lips are undeniable  
This kiss is something I can't risk  
Your heart is unreliable  
Something so sentimental  
You make so detrimental  
And I wish it didn't feel like this  
Cause I don't wanna miss this kiss  
I don't wanna miss this kiss_

Matt smiled as he continued to watch Mimi dance around in her video. He had been watching every single one of them since he returned from rehearsals. He watched every movement, every expression, every smile, everything. He was mesmerized.

As the video finished, he took note of the kitchen clock and noticed that it was half 'til 7 o'clock. He rose from where he was sitting and made his way into the kitchen where he had left the dinner he had prepared himself cooking. He had decided to make Mimi's favorite: Cordon bleus with steamed vegetables on the side. He only hoped that TJ liked it the way his mom did.

_TJ…_

Matt smiled as he thought of the young boy. He couldn't understand how someone could sneak into his heart just having been acquainted for two days. It confused him. His defense wall was shattered the moment he laid eyes on the kid and without him knowing, Matt allowed him fully into his heart. Only one other person had been able to do that: Mimi.

He looked at the clock again, growling as he realized that only three minutes had past. Matt knew he had to relax. He didn't want to ruin this night. He didn't know exactly what he was expecting from this dinner, but he knew that he wanted Mimi to have him on his mind after she left his place. He wanted to learn more about her and TJ. He wanted to be a part of their lives.

Matt sighed. What the hell was he thinking?! The kid didn't need a father, he already had one. Matt ignored the tightness he felt in his chest as his thoughts went to Michael Barton. He remembered his face. Blond hair, blue eyes, tall - he wasn't ugly either, and Matt disliked him for it. Matt had to admit that he looked like the perfect man for Mimi.

Matt growled once more. He was the one that was made for Mimi, not him. Michael had never hurt Mimi the way he and Richard had.

RING…RING…RING…

The phone snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked at the caller ID and noticed it was TK. He answered it quickly.

"Hey TK"

"Dude, is it true that you invited Mimi and TJ over?"

"Who told you?"

"Kari. She heard it from Tai" Matt rolled his eyes. Stupid Tai.

"Yea I did"

"Are you going to ask her if TJ is your son?"

"What?!" Matt choked out.

"Well aren't you?"

"NO!" Matt yelled, "That hadn't even crossed my mind. TJ already has a father, TK - Michael Barton, and yes, he DOES exist, look him up" Matt sighed, "TJ has the color of his eyes, well sort of, TJ's are a regular cool blue, while…while his father's eyes are a dark blue…"

"Then why is it that you sound all depressed? It's as if you're almost sad that he's not your son."

"I'm not gonna lie to you TK, if TJ were to have been my son, I would have been the most happiest man on the planet." Matt said as he thought of him, "Damn, it's just that when he looks at you with those eyes, it just kills you, you know. There's something about him TK, I can't quite put my finger on it, but he just…he sneaks into your soul and refuses to leave. I guess you just have to meet him in order to see what I mean…"

TK was silent for a while. He had never heard his brother talk so highly about someone, especially a child. TK's heart went out to him, he sounded hurt, as if he was living a nightmare he wanted to wake up from and realize that it was all just a bad dream and that Mimi and TJ were really his.

"Hey what's Mimi's relationship with…with…well with TJ's father? Are they married? Did I already ask that?"

"I don't remember if you did, but according to TJ, Michael doesn't live with them. I guess he just supports his…his fam…supports them."

"Well then I guess that's good news for you huh? You can squeeze yourself in there" TK laughed. Matt made a face.

"I'm so sure, TK, I don't think that Michael guy would like it-"

"Oh please! Don't give me that crap! Don't tell me that you're actually taking that guy's feelings into consideration because it's a lie. If that was the case, then why the hell did you invite Mimi to your place for dinner? _I don't think that Michael guy would like it_, please, whatever man, don't give me that crap, just admit it"

"Fine okay, I admit it. I could care less about that guy, but I do care about TJ's feelings towards him. I don't want him to see me as the 'bad guy' who steals his mother from his father" Matt heard TK sigh.

"I hear you man, but you need to think about yourself too. Think of your happiness. Mimi is your happiness, fight for her"

"I don't deserve her TK"

"Why the hell not?"

"If anyone were to rightfully deserve her, it would be that Michael Barton because he's been the only one who hasn't hurt her. He's actually done everything that I couldn't do. He came into her life at the right time and gave her TJ. She's over me. She's probably been over me for a long time"

"I don't know, man…I just don't believe that"

"Well believe it cause it's true"

"Alright, alright, enough with all this depressing conversation, at what time are they going to get there?"

"Seven"

"Oh so then, any minute huh?"

Matt looked at the clock again and was surprised to see that TK was right, it was already 7 o'clock.

"Yea…"

"Well I'm gonna let you go so that you can prepare but before I do, make some room for me because I'm gonna be getting into town this week, maybe around Thursday or Friday. The wedding is next week right?"

"Yea, it's next week on Friday"

"Perfect. Okay, then, see ya bro. Don't mess this date up" TK laughed as the other side of the line went dead.

Matt hung up the phone and just sat there for a moment. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next. Should he wait by the door? Should he turn the television on? Or maybe the radio? He sat up straighter, what were they going to talk about? Should he offer to watch a movie? He was beginning to get anxious and he didn't like it. Remembering the reason they were coming, Matt stood up and quickly looked around for the nicely wrapped box in which his precious old harmonica was in. He had wrapped it the best he could and even added a bow, which unfortunately didn't come out as well as he had wanted it to. Finally, he found it in his bedroom, on his dresser.

It was at that moment in which the doorbell rang. They had arrived. He quickly exited his bedroom and walked towards the front door, practically tripping over his own two feet. As he reached his front door, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out before opening the door.

"Hey" He said with a bright smile, his eyes meeting Mimi's caramel eyes. She smiled in return.

"We're here Uncle Matt!" Matt turned his attention to TJ who was grinning from ear to ear. He had on a pair of blue jeans and a regular orange hoodie.

"Yea, I can see that, come in, come in" they did as he opened the door wider.  
"Thanks" Mimi said softly.

"Something smells good!" TJ announced.

"Yea, something does smell good" Mimi said as she looked at Matt. Matt smiled proudly as they complimented the aroma of his own cooking.

"Glad to hear that you approve of my cooking, let's just hope that you enjoy the taste as well" He guided them towards the kitchen and sat down.

"You made it?" Mimi asked quite surprised. Matt smirked as he looked at her.

"Yup" He walked over to the counter and started making a plate for each of his guests.  
"Here let me help you" Mimi began and was about to make her way over to help him when she was suddenly stopped by Matt's strong voice.

"Nope. You are to stay right where you are Mimi. You are my guests and I will serve you tonight"

Mimi wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she simply nodded and settled back into her seat. She looked over at TJ and smiled at the happiness that shone in his face. He truly was enjoying himself even though the evening was barely starting. It was a good thing that they were already going to eat since she hadn't eaten since they had eaten at the pizza parlor. She had been too nervous to eat. She was even nervous now but her stomach was too hungry to care.

"So what are we having tonight?"

"We're having Cordon Bleus"

"Really?" Mimi said, a little too excitedly. She hadn't had that in a LONG time and she was touched that Matt had actually remembered her favorite food. Did he do it on purpose? Her stomach growled softly and luckily for her, no one heard it.

"Yup, I know it was you're favorite back then, so I thought, you know…for old time's sake"

"Oh wow, I haven't eaten that in a long long time" Mimi said, feeling fifteen again.

"What is that?" TJ asked innocently.

"It's a piece of chicken that's breaded and on the inside, it comes with some ham with melted cheese, but my favorite is with – "

"Broccoli and cheese in the middle" Matt finished for her. Mimi nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes. I love it with the broccoli and cheese in the middle" She looked over to Matt, "Is that how you made them?"

"Yes I did"

"How awesome!"

TJ looked at his mother. He was mesmerized. He hadn't seen his mother this excited about anything in a really long time.

Matt laughed at Mimi's childlike reaction. He began to feel more at ease the moment he saw her sparkling smile. He only hoped that the night would continue to go well.

Matt served them and finally himself, seating down in between Mimi and TJ. Mimi was the one who took the first bite. She chewed slowly as if savoring every single bite. Finally, she swallowed and she closed her eyes in satisfaction. Matt had to look away from her face because he was finding that his body was reacting to her expressions and it was not the right place nor time to start thinking of things like that, especially with a five year old boy sitting right next to him.

"Oh wow Matt, it tastes so good" She said as she cut another piece and placed it in her mouth. Following her action, TJ put a piece in his mouth as well.

"It _is_ good! I like it" he said.

"Well there's plenty more if you want some okay, you don't even have to ask. My home is your home" TJ only nodded as he continued to stuff his mouth with veggies and chicken.

"You've really outdone yourself Matt. I never knew you could cook so well," Mimi said as she took a sip of her water. Matt shrugged.

"There's a lot about me you don't know, Mimi" he smiled, "I've gotten good at a lot of things"

"Really? Like what?"

"Well cooking for one" he said and Mimi just made him a face, while TJ only giggled, "I've gotten well at cleaning" TJ laughed at that one. Matt smirked at him.

"What's so funny?"

"You're funny Uncle Matt…you were bad at cleaning?"

"More like he didn't know what the word 'clean' meant, sweetie," Mimi said as she laughed as well.

"Hey! I was clean….enough"

"Yea right!" Mimi said, and then turned her attention to TJ, "When we were little, his mom would always get after him because he never cleaned up his room"

"You knew each other when you were little?" TJ asked.

Mimi stopped herself from giggling and mentally smacked herself. She had forgotten that her son knew nothing of her past. The only thing he knew for a fact was that his grandmother and grandfather had died in a tragic accident. Mimi thought for a moment before responding. She didn't really think there was any harm in letting TJ become aware of her connect with Matt, at least when they were children.

"Yes sweetheart, we actually grew up together."

"Cool. Did you grow up with Aunt Sora and Uncle Tai?"

"No not with them, we didn't meet them until we were in the Digital World"

"What about Uncle Joe and Uncle Izzy?" Mimi shook her head.

"Nope, we met them in the Digital world as well"

"Oh! Then you grew up with Uncle TK!" Mimi nodded.

"Yup"

"You know about TK?" Matt asked. TJ nodded.

"Yes. Momma has a picture of all of you in her album back home. I even got to see Palmon. She's super pretty"

"Yes she is" Mimi said, remembering.

"What about yours Uncle Matt? What was your Digimon called again?"

"Gabumon"

"So cool! Momma said he turned into a wolf right?" Matt laughed.

"Yea a big wolf"

"That's so cool, I wish I could have a Digimon," he said sadly. Matt patted him on his shoulder.

"Who knows, if the Digital World ever needs rescuing again, I'm sure you'll get your chance" Matt said. TJ smiled in return.

For the next twenty minutes, the conversation was amicable. Matt learned a lot about TJ. He learned that he was a red belt in karate. He started learning to play guitar, drums and piano at the age of three. He loves to sing. He's an excellent dancer. He dislikes onions and carrots. His best friend is named Carlos. His favorite sport is soccer. He's never been anywhere outside America. His celebrity crush is Selena Gomez. He wants to be a singer when he grows up.

"I can also write songs!"

"Really?"

"Uh huh, right Momma?" TJ looked at Mimi for confirmation. Mimi only nodded as she smiled at the duo that seemed so concentrated on each other. Mimi couldn't believe how natural this felt. They actually felt like a family. Matt listened to TJ go on and on about his likes and dislikes and all the places he's been, including school activities and projects which he found interesting enough to share, and every once in a while, Mimi saw Matt would look her way and smile before turning back to TJ. Mimi's heart was filled with joy and she only hoped that one-day, perhaps, she could give TJ a family like this.

"I help Momma write some of her songs"

"Well looks like you got that from your mom since she's a songwriter"

"Yup. I want to be a songwriter too"

"I'm sure you will" Matt said as he shook his hair. TJ pulled away, smiling, as he began to fix his hair back into place, "Uncle Matt! You gonna mess up my style" Matt and Mimi just laughed.

"Well I wish I could write like your mom"

"You don't write your songs?" Matt shook his head saying no.

"You're mom was the brains of that department, I just played and sang"

"What are you talking about?" Mimi decided to jump in, "I remember you wrote some pretty good stuff back then" Matt gave her a look.

"I'm serious! You showed me some of your writings…they were good"

"Yea right! Not as good as yours"

"No really, they were looking really good."

"You wrote a song Uncle Matt?" Matt shook his head.  
"I did but it stunk"

"It did not!" Mimi disagreed, "Do you still have it? What was it called?"

"I didn't name – "

"Perfect Harmony!" Mimi shouted. Matt's eyes widened; shocked that she could still remember the title of his so-called song. "That's the name of the song! Perfect Harmony"

"Wow, that's a cool name, I wanna hear it Uncle Matt, please, can I?"

"Sorry TJ, I never finished it"

"Take it out Matt, lemme see it"

"No Mimi, really, that's not necessary" Mimi made a pouty face, a face that Matt was shocked to see, since it was a technique in which she would use against him when they were dating. It would work every time. And it worked this time as well.

"Oh fine, wait here…let me see if I still have it around here. I think I may have thrown it away" He stood up and went into his bedroom. Mimi and TJ could here closet doors opening, then drawers opening and closing. They heard things falling to the ground and the occasional grunts of the man who was getting frustrated. Finally they heard a loud 'FOUND IT' and saw Matt entering the kitchen once more.

"Here it is…like I said, its not finished" Mimi took it from his hands and TJ got up from his seat and made his way towards Mimi in order to see the words.

"Can you read TJ?" Matt asked him. TJ nodded.

"Uh huh, I learned how to read when I was four. I'm really smart Uncle Matt. I know how to write remember"

"Oh yea, that's right"

TJ went back to reading the words. Mimi finished before him. She was at a loss for words. The song was absolutely beautiful. He had added words to it since it was still a bit longer than it was the first time she had seen it.

"Matt…it's beautiful. How come you haven't finished it?" Matt shrugged, never leaving her eyes.

"I guess…I just lost my inspiration" Mimi blinked and then rapidly looked away. Her heart raced against her chest. Was this song about….her?

"Your inspiration?" TJ said, looking up from the paper, "How come you lost it? Can't you get it back?"

"I don't know if it'll be that easy TJ. I actually do have it back, but I just don't know for how much longer" He said never taking his eyes off of Mimi, making her more uncomfortable.

"Well then how come you don't finish it before it goes away?" At his suggestion, Matt turned to look at TJ.

"I can help you if you want…Momma will help too, won't you Momma?" TJ said giving his best puppy eyes to Mimi. Shakingly, Mimi nodded.

"Of course I'll help, but that's only if Matt wants help TJ" TJ looked back at Matt.

"You'll let us right Uncle Matt?" TJ said giving the same puppy dog eye look to Matt. Matt sighed then looked over at Mimi.

"How can you say no to those eyes?" Mimi smiled and shrugged.

"You don't, you just give in" TJ yelled a shout of victory. Matt and Mimi laughed.

"Well, if we're actually going to finish this song then I guess I better go get my piano." He said getting up from the table. "Why don't we all go to the living room, I think we'll be more comfortable there" Nodding, both Mimi and TJ got up and followed Matt into the living room. TJ took a seat on the rug, while Mimi took one side of the love seat. Matt quickly went into his bedroom and came right out with a big looking piano.

"Cool!" TJ exclaimed.

"Okay…where do we begin?"

"Well, looking at your lyrics, you pretty much have it done, maybe you just have to add another stanza and you'll be good to go" Mimi said as she reviewed the lyrics.

"Momma's right. You got a lot Uncle Matt. You're a good songwriter like Momma"

"I'll never be as good as your Momma" Matt said as he smiled at Mimi, making her blush.

"Well let's think. What is it that you want to say?" Matt looked over his song. When he had begun to write it, he had already started falling for Mimi. This song was about her. As he read over his lyrics, he thought about what he wanted to portray to her through this song.

"Well…I guess, I want to say something along the lines that in your entire life, you search for love and you look everywhere for it but then you realize, it was always right in front of you and you actually didn't have to go anywhere for it"

"Then write it like that Uncle Matt" TJ said excitedly. "That makes sense, right Momma?"

Mimi was silent as she looked at Matt. Matt's gaze didn't falter. He held her gaze. Finally, Mimi broke the connection; she looked at TJ and nodded.

"He's right. Those words do sound good. Maybe we can reword them and they'll be fine"

Matt nodded and together they began to find a way to write his words in the last stanza that he needed. It took the trio about twenty minutes to finish the three-line stanza before finally being satisfied with the outcome.

"Yay!" TJ yelled, "We finished it! Play it Uncle Matt! Sing it"

"No TJ, I can't." TJ's face fell.

"Why not? We finished it."

"Well the reason why I can't is because this song is a duet" TJ's eyes lit up once more.

"Then Momma will sing with you!" Mimi was dumbfounded.

"Uh…uh…What?"

"Sing with Uncle Matt, Momma" Mimi gulped, her heart beating even faster.

"You don't have to Mimi, relax"

"No, I don't mind" she said shaking her head. Matt looked her over skeptically, then nodded.

"Fine, ready?" Mimi only nodded.

Matt began the melody on the piano and Mimi began the song.

_[Mimi]_

_When I first saw you, didn't know what to think.  
But something about you is so interesting.  
I can see me and you being best friends.  
The kind of friends that finish each other's sentences.  
_

_[Mimi and Matt]  
When I can't think of the right words to say, I just sing, "Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh."  
Come on and harmonize with my melody.  
And we'll sing, "Oh oh oh."  
Ain't it a Perfect Harmony?  
_

_[Matt]  
I would of never thought I'd be here with you.  
To start a friendship that is so brand new.  
It's so amazing, I have to say.  
Never met someone that had so much in common with me.  
_

_[Matt]  
Now I can look into your eyes all day and just say, "Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh."[Mimi]  
I wanna harmonize with your melody.  
And just sing, "Oh oh oh."[Mimi]  
Ain't it a Perfect Harmony?_

Sometimes in your lifetime, you look and search for someone just to care.[Mimi]  
Look around and it was there.[Matt]  
And we didn't need to go no where.[Both]

_[Both]  
When I can't think of the right words to say, I just sing, "Oh oh oh. Oh oh oh."  
Come on and harmonize with my melody.  
We'll just sing, "Oh oh oh."  
Ain't it a Perfect Harmony?_

[Matt] You got me, [Mimi] I got you.  
[Matt] I got you, [Mimi] you got me.  
[Matt]Yea, you got me,[Mimi] I got you.  
A Perfect harmony. [both]

The song finally came to a stop and TJ applauded excitedly.

"Wow! That was so cool! You were awesome!"

Matt and Mimi smiled at him, neither looking at one another. Singing the song, Mimi had felt different. She couldn't explain it but there was this connection that she felt with Matt.

She felt connected with him.

Matt wanted to look at Mimi but decided against it. He was a bit shaken up himself after the way they had sung the song. Matt thought back and couldn't believe that he had actually sung the song with Mimi, the way that he had wanted it to be for a long time. Then it dawned on him: He…had written a song. A smile crept unto Matt's face and it was then that Mimi decided to face him. The look she saw was a look of pure accomplishment. Mimi couldn't help but smile for she knew that look.

"Well, it was awesome because it was wonderfully written" She said as she looked at Matt. Matt finally faced her, with appreciation in his face.

"I would have never been able to finish if it hadn't been for the both of you" TJ beamed while Mimi continued with her smile.

"You're welcome!" TJ said, "Sing it again!"

Matt and Mimi laughed. "Maybe some other time dear"

"Awww"

"Don't be sad TJ, how 'bout I give you your present now?" TJ stood from his place.

"Yes, please!" Matt walked up to the kitchen counter and reached for the wrapped gift.

"Here you go…" He said as he handed TJ the box, "Happy early birthday"

TJ tore at the box while Mimi watched in silence. A part of her wanted to cry, while the other half wanted to burst of happiness. She seemed it was only right for TJ to open his first birthday gift from his father. Once TJ ripped the wrapping, he opened the box carefully and took out the small silver harmonica. It shone brightly back at him. For a moment, he just sat there, staring at it quietly.

"What's the matter sweetheart? Aren't you happy?" Mimi asked as she touched his arms softly. It was then that TJ lifted his head, and both adults saw the unshed tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" they both said simultaneously. TJ shook his head, wiping the tears away.

"Nothing. I'm…I'm just…really happy" he said as he jumped into Matt's arms. Mimi couldn't help herself, she began to cry as she saw the scene before. Matt wrapped TJ in his arms and hugged him tightly.

"I'm happy that you're happy," Matt whispered. TJ let go of Matt and stared at his new gift. The way he held it looked as if he was holding delicate jewels and in his eyes, he was.

"I love it Da-" TJ stuttered, Matt gaped and Mimi gasped. "S-Sorry…I mean…Uncle Matt" He smiled softly. "I really _really_ love my new harmonica" he then walked up to Mimi in order for her to take a look at his gift but when he reached her, he saw the tears and immediately began to worry.

"Momma…why are you crying?" Mimi grabbed and hugged him tightly.

"Don't you worry about me, sweetheart, these are happy tears" she said as she let go and looked into his eyes, "I'm also happy you're happy" TJ smiled, genuinely smiled.

Matt was having a hard time controlling himself as well. Hearing TJ almost call him Dad, impacted him more than he dared to admit. He hadn't been expecting that at all, obviously, neither had Mimi.

TJ placed the harmonica up to his lips and blasted air through it. Almost immediately the mood changed and Matt and Mimi both found themselves cringing at the sound that came out of the harmonica.

"TJ, TJ, not like that" Matt said as he took the harmonica away from him. He carefully cleaned it and then placed it to his own lips and began to play.

The melody coming out of the harmonica was a familiar one. Mimi smiled as she heard it. It was the same melody he played when they were in the Digital world. Mimi looked at her son and saw him enthralled. She took a peek at Matt and his expression was the same as back then, very serene, relaxed. Mimi had loved watching him play. She knew it was the only time he felt like himself and she adored seeing him each time he did.

The song quickly finished and Matt's audience both applauded.

"That was so cool! I wanna play like you!"

"I'm sure you will one day." TJ only smiled. He then took back the harmonica and placed it carefully back into its box.

"Great…I'm gonna be hearing that sound for the next couple of months" Mimi joked. Matt turned to look at her and smirked.

"He's a smart kid, he'll get the hang of it fast, I did" He chuckled. Once TJ was done setting his gift aside where he was sure that nothing would happen to it (inside his Momma's purse), he asked what was next on their agenda.

"Well, I don't know…whatever you want lil man" TJ thought for a moment, then quickly snapped his fingers, "I know! Do you have 'Just Dance 4' Uncle Matt?" Matt's eyebrow rose.

"As a matter a fact, I do. It's not mine, it's my brother's and he left it here a while ago. Do you want to play it?" TJ nodded eagerly.

"Yes please! Momma lets play"

"I don't know sweetheart, I think I'm gonna sit this one out"

"Oh no you don't Mimi, if I'm playing, you're playing" Mimi stared at Matt. Did he just basically order her to play? The nerve of him! But Matt didn't give her any time to retort, he grabbed both of her hands and lifted her to her feet. He smiled and winked as he passed her to go and set the wii and game.

"I really don't feel like playing tonight, honestly. I'll just watch you guys"

"No Momma, Uncle Matt already said that you have to play"

"But it's gonna be boring and I get all sweaty!"

"Suck it up Mimi, you're playing" Matt smirked at her, which only irked her even more.

"You know…I don't have to listen to you."

"What's the matter Mimi? Scared I'm gonna beat you?" Mimi narrowed her eyes at the handsome man in front of her.

"Scared? Please! I can so whip your butt in this game and you know it!"

"Prove it then"

"I don't have to prove anything, I know I'm better"

"Sure you are Meems," he said sarcastically.

"I am!"

"Yea, sure, if you say so"

"Ugh! Fine! I'll play!" She walked up to him and snatched one of the remotes away from him, earning a small chuckle from him. TJ watched on in amazement. He had never seen his mother be convinced so easily before. Up until that moment, he had been the only one who had been able to do that with her. TJ didn't know whether to be happy about this or not. He did, however, feel some type of jealousy towards his Uncle Matt. He shook his head and concentrated on the game before them.

"Hey, I was thinking...why don't we spice things up?" Matt suggested.  
"What do you mean?"

"Let's make a bet," he stated.

"A bet? What kind? What would be the prize? Or what would the loser have to do?" Mimi asked.

Matt thought for a moment. He knew exactly what he could bet: another date with Mimi but he knew that he couldn't just blurt it out; he needed to word it correctly so that he wouldn't raise any suspicions.

"I know!" TJ squealed, "Everyone has to pick something to do if they win and then at the end, who ever wins, says what they want! It will be a surprise!"

Matt and Mimi looked at each other not knowing how to respond at first, but within a couple of seconds, they both looked down at TJ and nodded to his request.

"Yay! Now let's play!"

**-One hour later-**

"I win! I win!" TJ exclaimed as he jump up and down excitedly. Both Matt and Mimi landed exhausted

on the love seat as they watched the overjoyed youngster finish his victory dance. TJ ran up to them and planted himself in between them.

"I won so now you have to do what I say!" The adults grumbled while TJ only laughed.

"Okay buddy, what is it that your mom and I have to do?"

The way Matt had said that sentence made Mimi feel as if they were a family. Her heart ached for that to become a reality but she knew that it wasn't going to be a garden of roses when the truth was revealed.

"Um…. let's see…. what do I want…" TJ took a moment to really think of what he really wanted. He looked from his mom to his Uncle Matt and finally down at his lap. He smiled as he realized what he wanted. He reflected on the progress of the evening. He thought of his mother, her smiles. He realized that Matt was good for her. He hadn't ever seen his mother react to any other guy the way she did with Matt, not even with Richard. He smiled as he figured out what he wanted.

"I know what I want" as a reflex, Matt and Mimi both leaned in close to him.

"And what's that sweetheart?"

"I actually want two things…is that okay?"

"Oh no…you only said one-" Mimi began.

"Yea you can have two things" Matt interrupted earning a shocked glare from the woman in front of him. TJ smiled widely at Matt and hugged his closest arm, then quickly let go.

"Okay. The first thing I want is for the both of you to sing 'Perfect Harmony' to everyone!" he declared. Matt and Mimi were both surprised to hear that type of request from him since it didn't do anything for him as a child.

"What? That's what you want? Why?" Matt asked.

"Yes. It's a good song Uncle Matt and…and you always wanted to do that right? Write a song?" he said as he looked at Matt with huge puppy dog eyes. "Well you did it! I think everyone needs hear it too!"

Mimi was beyond words. She couldn't believe how much TJ had come to accept Matt, not knowing their true connection. It amazed her just how big of a heart her son had. Mimi looked at Matt who looked touched by TJ's compliment. She knew that this must be confusing for him and she hoped that one-day, Matt would truly come to accept TJ as his… one day.

"So yes? Will you sing together?"

"It's whatever Matt decides sweetheart…it's his song"

Matt shook his head indicating no, and for a moment, both TJ and Mimi thought he was rejecting the request.

"No" he said, "It's _our_ song"

TJ smiled brightly and hugged him once more. The happiness he felt in his heart was more than he had ever imagined he would ever feel. TJ recognized that he found comfort in Matt's arms. He felt safe in them and he couldn't understand why.

"I'll do it"

"Yay!" TJ exclaimed still hugging him. Matt laughed.

"What's request number two?"

At the mention of the second thing, he let go of Matt and sat up straight with a huge smile.

"I want all of us to go somewhere fun! Just the three of us again!"

Mimi's eyes widened along with Matt's, both for different reasons. Mimi was shocked that her son was actually requesting another date with Matt! Her heart beat faster at the thought of spending more and more time with the man across from her. She wasn't sure if it was safe for her heart to be so close to him.

Matt, on the other hand, was shocked that the young boy had voiced what he would have said if he had won: another date with Mimi and TJ. Slowly, a smile began to form on his face as he looked at Mimi. He could tell that she wasn't so keen on the idea of spending another day with him but inside himself, he could care less, he was happy.

"Sweetheart, that's a little bold" Mimi began and Matt knew that she was about to start finding excuses for them not to get together and Matt was just not ready to accept that.

"No not at all. I'm all in" He stated, earning a shocked look from Mimi. He could tell that her eyes were telling him to refuse her son's request but he just played along as if he didn't understand what she was trying to say to him.

"Matt, really, I don't think-"

"Momma! You have to! I won the game!"

"Yea Mimi, it's only fair. He did win" Mimi looked at Matt incredulously. What in the world was this man doing?! Did he understand what he was agreeing to? Was this all on purpose? Was he trying to make her life difficult? She didn't understand him. She looked at the two males who looked at her with the same piercing blue eyes. It shocked her to the core at the resemblance between father and son. She still couldn't believe that the entire 'Michael Barton' lie had actually been bought. She was so thankful that Michael had similar features to Matt, if not, she would have been screwed since the beginning.

"Momma?"

"Mimi?" both of them said at the same time, and Mimi focused on her reality again. Two pairs of blue eyes were now filled with worry due to her silence. Mimi sighed.

"Okay, fine, we'll do something fun…together…"

"Yay!" TJ said as he hugged her tightly. Mimi laughed as she hugged him back.

"So where do you want to go?"

"Wait a minute, we're not going right now right?" Mimi asked.

"No Mimi, not today," Matt said as he suddenly winked at her without having TJ catch him. Mimi shivered slightly. "We're still not done with this night"

"Yea Momma, not today. I still wanna stay here with Uncle Matt in his house" TJ said, "I'm gonna think about it and tell you later okay?"

"That sounds good to me TJ" Matt agreed.

"So what's next Uncle Matt?" Mimi giggled. Her son really was enjoying himself. Matt shrugged.

"I don't know…would you like to watch a movie?"

"Yea!"

"Okay then, movie it is" Matt said getting up from his seat and walking over to his television. He opened up a cabinet above the TV and TJ saw that he had a stack of movies within the cabinet.

"Which ones do you have?" He said getting up and walking over to Matt.

"I have Iron Man 1 and 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Armageddon, um…you know what, these are pretty intense for your age, let's see…I know I have some for your age…" Matt continued to look around his movies, while TJ pouted.

"Aww Uncle Matt, I'm not a baby…I'm a big boy you know…" Matt laughed.

"Yea I know you are lil man, but I think you're mom would appreciate it if we watched something more family orientated."

"I'd greatly appreciated" Mimi chimed in.

"See?" TJ only continued to pout.

Matt continued to search through his movie stash. He couldn't decide on what movie he should suggest. His mind kept going over to Mimi, who he was certain, wasn't too happy with the idea of spending time with him, but nonetheless, he was happy that her son liked him so much. He mentally sighed as he looked over his movie choices and realized, he didn't really have anything kid oriented. Before closing the drawer, his eye caught a movie case that made his eyes widened.

"Hey Mimi"

Mimi was startled by his voice but still answered with a short 'hn' to acknowledge that she had heard him.

"Remember how popular we became when we came back from the Digital world?"

"Yea"

"Remember how many people were coming up to us to ask for permission to make toys out of us, movie and TV deals and all that other stuff?

"Uh huh"

"Well check this out," He said as he pulled the movie case from the drawer. He quickly tossed it over and she caught it easily. Mimi looked dumbfounded at the object in her hands. It was only a second later that she realized exactly what was in her hands. She quickly lifted her gaze towards Matt who was smirking down at her.

"Is this for real?"

"Heck yea! It's awesome isn't it?"

"Yea…it is…"

"What? What's so awesome?" TJ said feeling left out of the loop.

"Sweetheart, remember how you would always tell me that you wished that you could know everything that happened to us in the Digital World?" TJ nodded. "Well, now you can" she said as she lifted the cover to show her son.

"Because they made an anime series about our adventures!" she said excitedly.

"Really?! Yay!" TJ yelled as he took the anime from Mimi's hands.

"I can't believe they did an anime about us," Mimi said as Matt sat down next to her. "When did they complete it?"

"Well, I think they started it about a year after you left. It was…well…it _is_ a very popular series here in Japan."

"Look Momma! I found you!" TJ said running to show her her anime version of herself. TJ scrunched up his nose as he further inspected her character.

"How come you have a cowboy hat?" Mimi blushed slightly.

"Because…it's the way I use to dress"

"Really? I'm happy you don't dress like that no more. That hat is too big" Mimi and Matt only laughed.

"Oh look it! Here's Uncle Matt!" He smiled from ear to ear. "You look so cool!"

"Oh sure, he looks good, but you think I look bad…how rude" Mimi said jokingly, earning a small giggle from TJ.

"Uncle Tai's there…oh and Aunt Sora!" He said as he pointed to each character. "Yup that's them and these right here are your Uncle Joe and Uncle Izzy"

"What about them?"

"That's your Aunt Kari and Uncle TK, Matt's brother"

"Wow…he looks like me…" Mimi's smile falters for a moment before recovering.

"What do you mean sweetie, they're cartoons?"

"He looks like my age" Mimi let a breath of relief then nodded.

"That's because he was close to your age when we first went into the digital world" Matt jumped in. "He was about 8 years old. He was just really short as a kid," He laughed.

"I can't believe how accurate the animators caught our appearance. It's so awesome"

"I'm actually shocked that you didn't know about this, I've heard that it was pretty popular in America as well…at least it was for some time…"

"Really?" Mimi thought for a moment but then shrugged, "What's its name?"

"Digimon: Digital Monsters"

"Very appropriate" Mimi smiled as she thought of her Digimon friend.

"Can we watch it now?" Matt laughed as he took the video out of its case and walked over to the dvd player. Once everything was set up correctly, he sat next to TJ who was in between the two adults.

2 hours later

"Wow…talk about a blast from the past" Mimi whispered. TJ had fallen asleep twenty minutes before the series ended.

"I know" Matt said as he looked at her, "That's what I thought when I first saw it"

"They were very accurate, especially with certain scenes and the wording…everything! I'm very impressed"

"I knew you'd like it"

"I did" Mimi nodded and then she sighed. "Well, I think it be best if I left already" she said and Matt immediately started to panic. He didn't want her to leave yet. "Gotta get this little munchkin to bed"

"No- don't leave yet Mimi" Mimi stared openly at Matt.

"Matt…."

"Please Mimi, just a little while longer…I feel as if there is still so much to catch up on… c'mon Mimi…"

Mimi was stuck. She didn't know what to do. A part of her was screaming at herself to leave the apartment, but the other part, the most stubborn, told her to listen to him and stay. It frightened her to her core as she realized that she was listening to her stubborn side.

"Fine…but only for a little while longer…okay?"

Matt nodded quickly, "Deal" he looked down at the young boy whose head ended up on his lap and his legs on his mother's. "If you want, Mimi, we can lie TJ in my room so that he could be more comfortable"

Mimi looked down at her son, the serene look on his face made her smile. He actually already _did_ look comfortable as he was, but nonetheless, she agreed at Matt's request and he carried him into his room.

"So…" Matt began as he walked back down the small hallway from his bedroom. Mimi looked up to him and smiled and repeated.

"So…" she said, "What do you want to talk about?"

Matt shrugged, "Anything you want to share"

Mimi stared for a moment. She wasn't sure what he was wanting for her to tell him. Her heart became anxious. She didn't know how much to tell about the last 5 years. Mimi decided to play it safe and asked the most common question everyone asks just in case.

"Just ask me whatever you want to know"

"Anything?" Mimi was silent for a moment before she slowly nodded her head.

"Sure…I'll try my best to answer it"

"Okay…" Matt began, "How did you become a popstar?"

Mimi let out a breath of relief, this type of questions she was fine in answering. Mimi told him about her arrival in New York, her rescuer and manager Debra, TJ's birth, and then her famous status after. Matt soaked everything in. Every word she said, he embedded it inside his mind. He could imagine her, all alone, in the dark streets of New York. He could feel her fear, her joy, her happiness, her love.

"Wow Mimi, you sure have been through a lot…" Mimi nodded.  
"Yea, I know, but I think it's made me the strong person I am today" Matt nodded.

"How did you meet…um… what's his face…Michael?"

Mimi gaped at Matt. What the hell?! Why did he want to know that?! Mimi didn't understand the point of that question. All it did was just turn the atmosphere to feel extremely awkward.

"Matt…I don't think that's appropriate given our history, don't you think?"

"Mimi, if I've asked its because I want to hear about it" He said firmly, "I'm fine with it"

"Yea well I'm not! Okay! This feels weird for me, don't ask me questions like that"  
Matt stared openly at the woman in front of him. Anger beginning to stir from within him. What was her problem? Why was she making such a big deal? Matt couldn't figure it out.  
"Do you love him?"

"What?!" Mimi's eyes widened, "What kind of a question is that?!"

"A good one" he said, "Answer that one at least"

"No! I don't want to!"

Matt chuckled as Mimi was flabbergasted.

"What in the world is so funny?"

"You" he said as he still laughed, "Guess that answers my question"

Mimi just continued to stare at him wide-eyed. Answers the question? How?

"You're a jerk"

Matt only laughed harder. Mimi got so upset that she reached over to punch him for laughing, but before she could even touch him, Matt flipped their positions. Mimi gasped as she found herself being trapped between the sofa and Matt's hard body on top of her.

"What the hell are you doing!" Matt became serious as Mimi began to struggle from underneath him. "Get off me!"

But Matt just continued to stare at Mimi. Mimi didn't know if her imagination was playing tricks on her or not, but she could swear that Matt's face was inching closer to her own. Mimi began to panic. She could not let something like this happen. She didn't know what would be the outcome. She was more afraid of how she was going to react rather than him. She wasn't ready to find out. She struggled harder to find a way out of his grasp but he only tightened his hold.

"Matt! I'm serious! What the hell do you think you'r-"

"Answer my question Mimi!" he said suddenly, Mimi gasped slightly at his firm tone.

"W-what question?"

"Do. You. Love. Him" he gritted between his teeth. Mimi could feel her heart pounding in her ears. What had gotten into Matt? This evening had been going so well. Mimi pondered if she should tell the truth about Michael.

"I…I…" she stuttered, as she debated inwardly. "Y-Y-Ye-"

Mimi wasn't able to finish the word, because it was at that time that Matt decided to kiss her. And boy did he kiss her good. Mimi's mind became blank as she struggled to stay with reality. She was losing sanity. All she could think of was the feel of Matt's lips on hers, hungrily devouring them. He outlined her lower lip with his tongue and surprisingly enough, Mimi found herself obliging to his silent request. She was no longer in control of herself. All Mimi wanted to do was get lost in Matt's kiss. Oh how she had forgotten how good of a kisser he was. Mimi's insides were turning into Jello. Before she knew it, she had wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Matt was in heaven. Being with Mimi was heaven. He didn't know what had dared him to kiss her – well, actually – Matt knew damn well why he kissed her. When he heard what the answer was going to be, he lost it and before he knew it, he kissed her. His surprise was that she was responding to his kiss. He had not been expecting that. He felt her hands wrap around his neck and he deepened the kiss. He wanted to stay like this forever with her. He knew now. He knew that Mimi still cared for him just like he did. No matter what she said now, he would make sure she admitted her feelings to him. Matt's lips left Mimi's as he began trailing down her neck, leaving small kisses as he went. He began to nibble and suck where her shoulder and neck connect, he knew, from long ago, that this was one of her weak spots and as soon as he began, Mimi was moaning his name. Hearing his name come out of her lips, was a feeling that words just couldn't describe. _He_ filled her mind at that moment, no one else. She wasn't thinking about anyone else but him. He liked that. He wanted it to be that way all the time. He traveled back up to her lips and kissed her once again.

By this time, Mimi's conscience began to kick in. What in the world was she allowing to happen? She suddenly pushed Matt away, startling him in the process and making him fall off the couch. Mimi stood up and walked behind the couch, covering her mouth, eye wide open.

Matt saw the emotions and questions running through her head. It was good while it lasted, he thought.

"Don't you ever do that again" she accused.

"I didn't exactly hear you complaining Baby"

"Don't call me that!" she said as she lowered her hand from her mouth. "I…I didn't push you away because…because…"

"Because you were enjoying it just as much as I was," He said as he picked himself off of the floor. He slowly began making his way towards her but Mimi evaded him as she would walk in the opposite direction.

"That's not true"

"Really? Care to go again? Let's see who's telling the truth and who isn't"

"You idiot!" she pointed at him, "I am NOT going to kiss you again. I will not repeat the past Matt"

Matt stopped in his tracks. He clenched his fists.

"So it's like that huh?"

Mimi breathed heavily, "Yes, it's like that. I will not be manipulated again. I have my son to think about"

"Thought you said you had forgiven us…me…?"  
"I have forgiven you, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to trust you again. C'mon on Matt! Think! How do you expect me to start something with you if when the first time we went out, it was all a lie." She all but yelled, she silently reminded herself that TJ was down the hall.

"It wasn't a lie!" he exclaimed as he took two steps towards her. Mimi gaped at him as if he had grown another head on his shoulders.

"Not a lie? Ha! Please! Don't give me that!"

"It wasn't Mimi! I did love you…I still d-"

"Don't!" she whispered loudly. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to believe it. "Don't you dare finish that sentence. If you wish to have any type of friendship with me, don't you dare finish that sentence."

Matt remained silent. She was rejecting him. She didn't want him the way he wanted her. Matt could feel the darkness surround him once more. He had lost her completely.

"I see…" he said finally. The room was silent with only their breathings being heard. "I get it Mimi"

Mimi wasn't sure if he really did. Her heart was beating rapidly. Seeing the hurt look he displayed on his features made her want to scream and run into his arms and comfort him. She hated herself for being so cold but she just couldn't help it. She was scared. She heard him exhale sharply.

"I'll take it then…" Mimi made a face.

"Take what?"  
"What you're offering: I'll take your friendship" he smiled down at her, "for now"

Mimi's eyes widened slightly before she calmed herself down. He wanted to be friends with her. She seriously thought that he was going to put more of a fight to be with her but he didn't, he accepted her terms – terms that she hadn't realized she had even laid out.

"Uh…um…thanks"

"I guess I'm just going to have to change your mind about us"

"Wha?"

"Be prepared Mimi, I'm not going to let you go as easily as I did 5 years ago. I am not going to allow the groups opinion or anybody to manipulate my feelings as well – not this time"

"Manipulate your feelings?" What in the world was he talking about? How were his feelings manipulated?

"Trust me – just this once – I know what I mean" Mimi just stared at him. She was curious for more but found herself biting her tongue. She only nodded in reply. Matt smiled and raked his hand through his hair as a small chuckle escaped his mouth.

"I feel as if I should apologize for the kiss but, I don't want to. I'm not sorry I did it. I don't regret it so …sorry for not regretting it. That's the best I can do" Mimi reddened and Matt laughed out loud.

"Yup, you're still the same 'ol Mimi, ya still get red easily" he said. Mimi's face only got redder.

"You're a jerk"

"Yea…you've said that already" Her only response was a small 'hmp' and she made her way to the couch. They were silent for a couple of minutes after that.

"Mimi"

"Matt"

They both stated at the same time. Each looked at each other before Mimi giggled and Matt smiled.

"You go first Mimi" Mimi shook her head as she continued to laugh.

"No you can go"

"Mimi, just tell me what you were going to say?"

"Well, I was just gonna say than-"

"Momma?"

Both adults quickly looked toward the direction of the hall. TJ stood there looking at the two of them with strange eyes. Matt and Mimi were startled to see him standing there undetected. How long had he been standing there? Mimi quickly stood up and walked over to him.

"Hey sweetie, you enjoyed your nap?" TJ stared at her without answering. Then slowly but surely, he nodded his head.

"Can we go home now Momma?"

"Sure sweetheart, let's go" TJ took a hold of Mimi's hand and held it tightly. Mimi looked down at him confusedly, then turned to smile brightly at Matt.

"Thank you Matt, that's what I was going to say earlier" she said, "Thank you for having us over, right TJ?"

TJ looked up at Matt and nodded but didn't smile.

"You okay lil man?" Matt said noticing the change, "Or are you still half asleep?"

"I'm still sleepy," He replied silently as he began to pull Mimi towards the door. "Let's go Momma"

"A-Alright sweetie, let me just get my purse" She quickly retrieved it and Matt opened the door for them.

"Thanks for coming over, I'll see you guys tomorrow okay" Both Mimi and TJ nodded and waved as they descended down the stairs. Matt waited until he saw both of them get into the car and drive away, only then did he close the door. Matt ran a frustrated hand through his hair once again. So close, he had been so close. What had he been expecting? That she would gladly welcome him back with open arms? As if! He had hurt her, he knew that, but he was also a changed man. He wanted her to see that. But how? He felt hopeless.

"Bring her back to me" he whispered to the universe, "Please, let my feelings reach her…somehow"

ozozozo Morning ozozozo

Matt awoke on the couch. He jolted up as he heard his phone ringing in the kitchen. He looked at the clock and cursed. 9:45.

"Dammit! I'm late!"

Practice was supposed to begin at 9 but having been tired from all the over thinking he had done the night before he overslept. Without wasting any more time, Matt quickly showered, changed and walked out the door by 10. He was in the recording studio at 10:15. The moment he walked in, he got an earful from Marshall and the rest of the team. He only rolled his eyes and ignored them.

"So, how was your date with Mimi?" Dom asked after the band had rehearsed for what seemed like hours but in reality was just for an hour and a half. Matt gave him a stern look.

"What's it to ya?"

"Aww, C'mon dude, I wanna know"

Matt smirked. "It went well"

"That's it? That's all I get? Well? C'mon Matt, give me more! Did you guys kiss, make out, had sex, what?" Matt hit him hard against his head. "Ouch! What the hell was that for!"

"That was for asking stupid questions!" he said crossing his arms on his chest. "TJ was there too you know. How are we going to have sex with a 5 year old in the room, get real!"

"Ouch, sorry man, I forgot that TJ was gonna be there" he said rubbing the side of his head, "Bummer"

Matt exhaled slowly, "Yea"

Dom looked at Matt silently.

"Hey Matt"

"What"

"Back then, you fell in love with Mimi right?" Matt looked at him for a second then nodded.

"Yes, I did"

"You know how I know"

Matt shrugged.

"Because you slept with her"

Matt gave him a confused look. What did that have to do with anything?

"What do you mean?"

"Matt, sleeping with her was never part of the deal. All you had to do was just pretend to go out with her, hold her hand, hug her, cuddle with her, maybe even kiss her but never, ever, did we say you _had_ to sleep with her." Dom said with a soft smile on his face. Matt looked at him eyes wide. He hadn't realized that, but Dom was right.

"When Mimi confronted us about what we had done and she went all physco on your butt, she said she had given herself to you. It was at that moment that I realized, you had fallen for her," Matt replayed that day in his mind. He could see her face red with anger as she told him off. It was a face he wished he never had to see her make again.

"Yea, I was already in love with her…although…I think that I had - "

"-Already been in love with her since you were small right?"

Matt gaped at Dom. "H-how could you have possibly figured…"

"It's not hard Matt. She's the only girl that could have ever understood you. She's seen you at your best and at your worst. She's been there for you. I guess you can say, a heart takes that into consideration."

Matt didn't know what to say. He had never told anyone that he had been in love with Mimi since infancy but as it turns out, looks like practically everyone could tell that he was.

"The point is, Matt, I wanted to say I was sorry"

"Sorry? For what?"

"For knowing yet still forcing you to break her heart" Matt understood now. "That isn't something friends and bandmates should do…so…sorry"

"Hey man, don't worry about it" Matt said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Let's look at it this way, if things hadn't happened the way they had, perhaps I'd still be being manipulated by my father"

Dom nodded, "Maybe. But if it hadn't happened like it did," Dom whispered as his face got extremely serious, "Mimi wouldn't have left and had a kid with someone else"

Matt wasn't sure how to answer for he knew that Dom was right.

"TJ wouldn't have been Michaels…" Dom continued, "He would have been yours"  
"But we were so young, Dom," Matt whispered, "I still find it hard to believe that Mimi got herself pregnant so quickly after arriving in America. She was only 15!"

"I know that's weird. Why would she do that? Didn't she know having a baby is hard work?"

Again, Matt just shrugged. Dom turned to look at Matt suddenly.

"Would you be willing to accept him?"

"Who?" he asked confusedly.

"TJ"

Matt didn't even have to think twice about it; he nodded. "Yes, I would."

Dom smiled. "He's an awesome kid, huh?"

"Yea, he sure is. He beat us at the JustDance. He's got some serious talent" Matt smiled as he thought of the boy. "He kind of reminds me of TK when he was little."

"Dude, he kind of reminds me of you! Not so much TK"

Matt rolled his eyes, "Don't start that again"

"Yea, yea, I know"

"HIYA PLAYERS!" came the loud sound of Tai walking into the room. All members jumped at the intrusion.

"Dammit Tai! Don't scare us like that!" Riker yelled.

"Yea! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Tyler grunted.

"Dudes, don't use that kind of language in front of TJ, Mimi will get mad"

All men looked at him strangely. What in the world was he talking about? TJ wasn't in the room. Tai smiled at their confusion before moving to one side and there behind him, stood TJ smiling warmly at them.  
"TJ!" they all, except Matt, yelled as they ran up to him. TJ laughed as the guys bombarded him with questions.

"Whatcha doin here?"

"Where's your mom?"

"Did you come with Tai?"

"Hey enough!" Matt said, "Let the kid breathe, sheesh"

TJ looked at Matt at that moment but did nothing. Matt noticed something different in TJ, he just couldn't seem to put his finger on it. Matt smiled at him but all he received back was a small tight smile from the boy. Matt became more confused. What had happened? Suddenly, his mind went back to the night before – had he seen what had happened between him and Mimi? How could he find out?

"Come TJ, lets sit over here because if not, these guys will just continue to ask you silly questions"

"Hey! They're not silly" Dom said. Tai let TJ to the couch while the rest of them, except Matt, went to take a seat with them.

"To answer your question: yes, he did come with me. Mimi allowed him to come since she and Sora were going to go and try on the maid of honor dress again. TJ didn't want to tag along."

"That's cool"

"Hey Matt" Tai called out to him, "Did you hear? TK and Kari are coming later this week"

"Yea, I heard, TK called me yesterday"

"Your brother's coming?" TJ finally spoke. Matt was caught off guard by the sound of his voice since he hadn't been acting like himself. He slowly nodded to him.

"Yes. My brother. He's in the university right now and he just finished with tests, remember, we were talking about them yesterday at the pizza parlor?"

"Oh yea…" he said as he began to fiddle with his tiny fingers. Matt wasn't sure what was wrong but he didn't like this. He felt as if there was a wall between him and TJ and he needed to find a way to break it completely.  
"Yea, my sister, which is Kari," Tai began, "is coming with TK since their summer vacation begins"  
"I saw how they look yesterday" TJ said.

"Really? Where?"

"When we went to Uncle Matt's house, we saw the Digimon show" Tai's eyes went wide as he focused on Matt again.

"You showed them the series?!"

"Yea, they wanted to" Matt shrugged, "Right, TJ?" TJ looked at him and nodded.

"Yup"

"See?" Tai only rolled his eyes.

"Well, yea then, my little sister was little at the time of the Digital World, just like TK" TJ nodded.

"They go to the same school?"

"Yup" Tai said happily, "Those two have been together since they were five"

"Together? Wow, they've been friends for a long time" TJ said sounding amazed.

"Well, they started out as friends, but now they are more than friends" At that, TJ's face became confused.

"More than friends?" Tai nodded, Matt sighed.

"He means that they are now boyfriend and girlfriend, TJ" TJ looked at Matt and made his "OH!" face implying that he finally understood.

"Wait!" he said suddenly, "They love each other?" Matt nodded.

"Yup, they sure do"

"And they were friends since they were little?" Tai nodded.

"Yup"

"Does that happen all the time?"

"What do you mean?" Matt said as he came to seat with the rest of them.  
"If you're friends since you are little, will you marry that person when you grow up?"

Dom and Tyler snickered at the innocence that TJ beheld.

"No, TJ, that doesn't _always_ happen" Tai said, "For some they do, others meet their true love later in life. For instance, me. I didn't meet your Aunt Sora until I was 15"

"But most of the time it does happen?" TJ asked.

"Maybe not most of the time, but yea, there are people whose love story begins when they are very young and they end up being with that person for the rest of their lives"

TJ seemed to ponder that thought for a moment. All the men weren't sure what could be going on inside his head until he suddenly lifted his gaze towards Matt. The intensity of his gaze made Matt feel uncomfortable.

"Did you meet your true love when you were little Uncle Matt?"

Matt's eyes slightly widened at the question. He hadn't been expecting that question at all. Matt wasn't sure how he should answer it, but decided that honesty is what this child deserved.

"Yes TJ, I did meet her when I was little" he began; he could feel the eyes of the rest of the group on him as he spoke.

"How old were you?"

"I don't remember, our parents had been best friends so I want to say that I've probably known her since we were babies" TJ's eyes widened at that, as if he knew who Matt was talking about.

"How come you're not married to her?"

Matt stared at TJ. He was trying to figure something out, he knew. He didn't know what the kid wanted to know, but Matt knew that something in his young mind was bothering him and these questions were crucial.

"Because I…" Matt looked down for a moment before continuing, "I didn't realize I was in love with her until I was 15. I did something really horrible to her and because of that, she left me and I died"

"You died?" TJ said confusedly, "How did you die, Uncle Matt?"

"I died TJ, because when she left, she took my heart with her without me realizing it. I only knew it until after I lost her"

"What happened to her?"

"She found happiness" TJ seemed surprised with that answer.

"She did? But how? She's not with you?" Matt smiled, it was beginning to feel like it always did when he was with TJ. He didn't feel him tense anymore.

"She has a new man in her life," he said looking at him directly, "and he's doing a pretty darn good job at taking care of her"

With those words said, Matt stood up, leaving a smiling TJ. Matt excused himself saying that he was going to go get some water, but all he really wanted to do was just step out of the room. Having that type of conversation with TJ was too much to take. He had been honest, but at the same time, Matt felt as if he was lying to the boy by not telling him that who he is in love with was his own mother.

"Snap!" Tai jumped up, startling everyone else, "I forgot to call the caterer!" he said as he took out his phone and walked out of the room. TJ looked at the door that both Matt and Tai had exited from. He then turned his attention back at the three men who were still with him. Reaching into his pocket, he placed his hand over the item that he had put in there in the morning.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" he said to whomever that had an answer for him. Dom, Riker and Tyler all looked at one another before turning back to TJ and nodding.

"Did my Momma and Uncle Matt use to be…you know…together?"

Three pairs of eyes looked back at the youngster.

"What? Why are you asking that so suddenly, TJ?"

"It's cuz, yesterday, when we were at Uncle Matt's house, I fell asleep while we were watching the movie and I think they carried me to his room"

"Yea, okay, then what?" Dom said, urging him to continue.

"Then I woke up and I didn't know where I was. I started looking around the room and I saw that it was Uncle Matt's room because it had a lot of instruments. It was really messy."

"But what does that have to do with your mom and Matt?" Tyler said.

"I found something in Uncle Matt's room that I never knew before"

"What? What did you find?" said Riker, panicking and hoping that it wasn't anything inappropriate for a child.

"Was it a magazine?" Dom said, "Ouch!"

"Shut up! Don't say that!" Riker said as he smacked Dom from behind. He knew what kind of magazine he was talking about but TJ didn't need an early sex education course right now.

"Sheesh, alright, sorry"

"No, I didn't find that. I found something else," He reached into his pocket and reached for the item that he had taken from Matt's room the night before. "I found this"

He handed what seemed like a strip of hard paper to Riker, while Dom and Tyler leaned in to see what was on it, their eyes widening on impact.

In Riker's hand, he held a picture strip of three pictures of Matt and Mimi when they were 15. The very top one showed them giving the peace sign. The one below it showed Mimi grabbing Matt's face and kissing his cheek while he winked at the camera, but the last picture showed the two of them kissing with a caption on the bottom that read 'Together Forever'

"Were Momma and Uncle Matt in love once?"

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**Dear Reader,**

**I find that I need to apologize once again. I'm terribly sorry for not updating as soon as possible. Since I hadn't updated in a while, I tried to make this as long as possible. I did 20 pages, woohoo! So I hope you enjoy them. This story is almost coming to an end: two more chapters _plus_ an epilogue! Whoop! Whoop!**

**Please remember that I really do appreciate your reviews. You inspire me.**

**The next chapter will be up in the incoming month so be on the look out for it.**

**Let me know what was you're favorite part of this chapter, or of the story so far, I would _love_ to hear about it!**

**Blessings,**

**Tessa Raine**


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